The second advantage is that the all votes would be equally weighed (Richards). The National Popular Vote effort is now halfway to its goal of electing future presidents via the popular vote, after Rhode Island . Candidates feel they either cant win or lose with the votes from these states. President Trump had earned 232 electoral . Longley, Robert. As with other powers entrusted to the states, it is an application, not a circumvention, of the Constitution when the states utilize those powers as they see fit. Contact your states liaison to schedule a briefing or to learn more. When you talk about the Electoral College shaping the election, it shapes the election all the time because it puts the focus on certain states and not others, said Alexander Keyssar, a professor of history and social policy at Harvard University. Change). Battleground states would disappear in U.S. elections. Under the current structure of presidential elections in the U.S., the states become a battleground of red states vs. blue states. In 2016, Hillary Clinton had more than 10 million of these votes, while Donald Trump had more than 8.3 million, even though Trump won 30 states and Clinton won 20 and the District of Columbia. 4. The decision on vice president goes to the newly elected Senate, with each senator casting a vote. These are the states that may go to either major party candidate in the election. Others may struggle to meet higher than expected voter turnout levels. Only Nebraska and Maine do not. If the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact becomes law it would be an excellent first step to help get a future amendment to the Constitution to replace the Electoral College/Winner-Take-All system to elect the president with a national popular vote using Ranked Choice Voting. on Advantages and Disadvantages of the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact, Follow All U.S. Citizens Should Vote. Americans are still bent up and flustered on how an individual could lose the popular vote, but still, be given the upper hand in Electoral College votes. Dont know what Ranked Choice Voting is? The same thing happened in 2000. What relevance do they have today. 2. Using the NPV system means that every vote counts the same. (The District of Columbia gets three, despite the fact that the home to Congress has no vote in Congress.). And in all states but Maine and Nebraska, the candidate who receives the most votes in that state is awarded all of its electoral votes, whether the split is 51% to 49% or 99% to 1%. 2023 by National Conference of State Legislatures, NCSL 50-State Searchable Bill Tracking Databases, Supreme Court to Reexamine Use of Civil Asset Forfeiture. 2. The nations founders hoped to quell the formation of powerful factions and political parties, and they wanted a mechanism that did not rely solely on popular majorities or Congress. I fear that most, if not all, of the states signing onto the NPV Compact will be just blue states. With the polarization in global politics today, especially in the United States, a switch to the popular vote would likely increase costs even further. A special commission named by the House chose Hayes over Samuel J. Tilden, after 20 electoral votes in Florida, Louisiana and South Carolina were disputed. In U.S. history, there has been one vice-presidential candidate who died after being nominated and one that withdrew from their partys ticket. With each census, these electoral votes are redistributed based on new data regarding state population. A proposal has been made to restore the one person one vote principle without having to change the Constitution which involves an interstate compact. In this issue of Capitol to Capitol NCSL Letter to Congress on Farm Bill Reauthorization and Town Hall, House Republicans Unveil Border Security Bill, and more. However, in the popular vote, Trump only received 62,984,825 votes against Hillary Clinton's 65,853,516 popular votes. To become president of the United States of America, you must be at least 35 years old, have lived in the U.S. for at least 14 years and be a natural-born citizen. Some areas may bend the rules of an election by extending voting hours illegally. . Despite the name, it is not a college in the modern educational sense, but refers to a collegium or group of colleagues. On Dec. 14, as electors gathered across the country to cast their ballots, Joseph R. Biden Jr. had earned 306 electoral votes, 36 more than needed to win. Make a contribution to support Common Cause today. But for those people who feel that changing how we elect the president should only be done by constitutional amendment they will feel that using the NPV Compact will undermine the legitimacy of the process even though its perfectly legal and constitutional. Explain that each state and the District of Columbia are given a share of the electoral vote based on population. In a stark example, sparsely populated Wyoming has three votes and a population of about 580,000, giving its individual voters far more clout in the election than their millions of counterparts in densely populated states like Florida, California and New York. Not only it already happened five times, but in theory, a candidate could win the presidency with only 22% of the popular vote in a two-candidates race. For example: States already have the power to award their electors to the winner of the national popular vote, although this would be disadvantageous to the state that did so unless it was joined simultaneously by other states that represent a majority of electoral votes. But if we set politics aside and focus on what is really best for democracy in our country in the long run I believe that the advantages of using the NPV compact to elect our president outweigh the disadvantages and the best way to elect our president in the 21st century is by direct popular vote using Ranked Choice Voting. Electors are chosen every four years in the months leading up to Election Day by their respective states political parties. Regional candidates could secure enough votes to win a national election. The Electoral College also inspires many what-if scenarios, some of them more likely than others. Most Popular. The use of the Electoral College has been the only approach the U.S. has used to gain a President, but this way has generated numerous issues. Prevents disputed outcomes ensuring a peaceful transition of power. Based on Article II, Section 1 of the Constitution granting the states the exclusive power to control how their electoral votes are awarded, the National Popular Vote plan requires the legislature of each participating state to enact a bill agreeing that the state will award all of its electoral votes to the candidate who receives the most popular votes in all 50 states and the District of Columbia, regardless of the outcome of the popular vote in that specific state. WASHINGTON (AP) WHY IS IT THAT ONE CANDIDATE CAN WIN THE POPULAR VOTE BUT ANOTHER WINS THE ELECTORAL VOTE AND THUS THE PRESIDENCY? It would be a national mandate to put someone in office, even if that winning candidate received less than 50% of the vote. Pros: Gives the smaller states an equal voice. The National Bonus Plan was proposed by historian Arthur Schlesinger, Jr. Graphic shows scenario in which a presidential candidate can win the popular vote but lose the election. While it has provided a stable and predictable framework for presidential elections, it has also produced several controversial outcomes. https://www.thoughtco.com/electoral-college-pros-and-cons-4686409 (accessed May 1, 2023). When you cast your ballot, you're not actually voting directly for your favored presidential candidate. Students may work individually or in small groups. Although the 20th Amendment to the Constitution provides clarity to this situation, that process is based on the electoral college. But . It has been enacted by twelve states, which include Rhode Island, Vermont, Hawaii, the District of Columbia, Connecticut, Maryland, Massachusetts, Washington, New Jersey, Illinois, New York, and California. The President-Elect takes the oath of office and is sworn in as President of the United States on January 20th in the year following the Presidential election (Archives). (They dont always do so.). Because of how the system is set up, it is possible for one candidate to win the popular vote and another to win the electoral vote. 2. Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in: You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. The National Popular Vote plan would eliminate what critics of the Electoral College system point to as the "winner-take-all" rule - the awarding all of a state's electoral votes to the candidate who receives the most popular votes in that state. Many Americans are confused about how a win is obtained under these conditions and are on a quest to change this traditional statute. Did you know that in 2016, Donald Trump won the Electoral College vote over Hillary Clinton despite losing the popular vote by nearly 3 million votes? In contrast, in a direct popular election, each vote matters equally. They will do as promised if the candidates do a very good job vetting them and picking people who are rock-solid, Professor Amar said. What are some of the main advantages and disadvantages of the Electoral College? 805 15th Street, NW, Suite 800 In a closely contested direct popular election, every precinct across the country might require close examination, rather than a handful of states or precincts. It could encourage voter turnout. Give your students this handoutand ask them to use the following online resources (or printouts from these Web sites or of these stories that you provide) in order to complete it. The popular vote eliminates this issue too. Donald Trump won the presidential election by securing 304 electoral votes, compared to Hillary Clinton's 227 electoral votes. There are various options for reforming the Electoral College system, including abolishing it altogether, adopting a national popular vote system, and proportional allocation In the early 19th century, many states ratified an approach that would allow the candidate with the most votes in that state to be the winner. New York Times columnist David Brooks and Washington Post associate editor Jonathan Capehart join Amna Nawaz to discuss the week in politics, Hear from two columnists with different political ideologies discuss the week in politics, Hear New York Times columnist David Brooks and Washington Post associate editor Jonathan Capehart join Geoff Bennett to discuss the week in politics. Every state is allocated several votes according to the number of senators and representatives in its U.S. Congressional delegation. Lastly, some Americans believe that there would be an increase in voter turn-out if people felt that their vote was viewed as a significant asset to their country. (LogOut/ Consequently, they decided that using the proxy votes of the well-informed electors would lessen the risk of tyranny of the majority, in which the voices of the minority are drowned out by those of the masses. 6. 5. Analyzes how william j.d. Its the Electoral College, not the national popular vote, that determines who wins the presidency. But the biggest problem with changing how we elect our president using the NPV Compact is that its too easy to change it back. In the case of a tie, there are contingencies in place to determine which person will serve in the elected office. "Electoral College Pros and Cons." Advantage: Encourages Voter Turnout It has been enacted by twelve states, which include Rhode Island, Vermont, Hawaii, the District of Columbia, Connecticut, Maryland, Massachusetts, Washington, New Jersey, Illinois, New York, and California. It was even a talking point among 2020 Democratic presidential candidates. America is known to have the costliest, prolonged, and complicated structure when electing a head of state. Read the overview below to gain an understanding of the process and explore the previews of opinion articles that highlight diverging views on this voting system. By continuing well assume youre on board with our, https://samploon.com/electoral-college-and-national-popular-vote-pros-and-cons/, Select a writer from a large pool of experts. Rescue crews are fighting rugged terrain in Great Smoky Mountains National Park as search efforts for a missing man remain ongoing. This new series from the AP is dedicated to answering commonly asked questions from our audience about the 2020 U.S. presidential election. It would reduce the influence of third parties on the U.S. presidential election. The Supreme Court has said in local and state elections voting should be based on the principle of one person one vote. Fair or not fair? This brings us to 196 of the 270 (73%) electoral votes needed to activate the pact just 74 votes away. Weve already seen this issue take place with the GOP primaries in 2016. If this happens many people in the red states will not feel that the change is legitimate even if its legal and technically constitutional. As of 2020, the state with the largest number of votes is California, with 55 electoral votes. The 102 extra electoral votes are calculated from allotting two votes for every state and for Washington, D.C. We answer more than 20,000 requests for information a year. The itineraries of presidential candidates in battleground states (and their allocation of other campaign resources) demonstrate what every gubernatorial or senatorial candidate in every state already knows namely that when every vote matters, the campaign must be run in every part of the state. Yes. Note: Today we are in a phase where the popular vote in presidential elections leans Democratic. On Dec. 14, as electors gathered across the country to cast their ballots, Joseph R. Biden Jr. had earned 306 electoral votes, 36 more than needed to win.
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national popular vote plan pros and cons