However, many people believe that a direct popular election is more democratic and fair than the Electoral College. It would reduce the threshold necessary to win the office. Today the Democrats want to replace the Electoral College/Winner-Take-All system with a direct popular vote and the Republicans adamantly want to keep it. The National Popular Vote stems from the winner-take-all approach that validates the presidential candidate interactions with only 4 out of 50 dates during their campaign. National Popular Vote will create a single member district (all 50 states and D.C.), where the candidate with the most votes wins and . Opines that the national popular vote plan is the wrong way to abolith the electoral college. (2021, Jun 14). The Supreme Court has said in local and state elections voting should be based on the principle of one person one vote. 2. The country could become less stable and divided if he or she did not have a vast amount of support (Richards). 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. On average, studies show that falls in line with historical averages showing around 60 percent of eligible voters casting a vote in presidential election years. Ken Bickers. The Electoral College was established in the Constitution to protect minority interests and mitigate the possibility of a regional candidate. Because its so hard to get an amendment to the Constitution passed that means that once it becomes law it will probably remain so for a long time because the bar to change it back is so high. I fear that most, if not all, of the states signing onto the NPV Compact will be just blue states. Many people may feel that any major change in how we elect the president should be in the Constitution and not in a legal loop hole even if its legal and technically constitutional. Without any sort of broad support, the politics of the country could become even more fractured than they already are. During the 2012 elections, 38 states, also known as spectator states, were ignored and forgotten. 1. Inside Ohio or Florida, to pick two examples, the big cities do not receive all the attention, and they certainly do not control the outcome. With the polarization in global politics today, especially in the United States, a switch to the popular vote would likely increase costs even further. Candidates feel they either cant win or lose with the votes from these states. The National Popular Vote Interstate Compact is an agreement where states in the compact award all their electoral votes to the winner of the . In fact, let's tally up all the votes cast for president between 1932 and 2008. Louisiana voters should decide who receives Louisiana's electoral votes. 9. However, Hilary Clinton won 2.6 million more popular votes nationwide than Donald Trump. The pros and cons of the popular vote structure of an election allow for the majority to have their say in who they wish to serve. Although many supporters of the electoral college argue that a two-party political system is more stable, some critics counter that having more than two parties would give Americans more choice. Lincoln Chafee (D) made his state the latest to sign on. It could help to reduce partisanship. It is our national motto and is so for a reason. All in all, the Electoral College causes many problems that seem unfair to American voters during such an important election. The bill has crossed paths with 36 legislative chambers and has been sponsored or voted for by 3,112 state legislators (National Popular Vote). She graduated magna cum laude from Brandeis University with bachelor's degrees in creative writing, English/American literature and international studies. Though the original, some would say highly undemocratic, purpose. In contrast, in a direct popular election, each vote matters equally. Thats how politics works in America. 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. And thats not how it should be in a democracy. That could lead to a very bad situation where, instead of the people voting in November to determine who the next president is, one or two states could effectively decide who becomes the next president simply by joining or withdrawing from the NPV Compact and changing the rules on how the votes for president are counted in the next election. Today, the fact that Nebraska and Maine do not use the winner-take-all system serves as proof that modifying the Electoral College system, as proposed by the National Popular Vote plan is constitutional and does not require a constitutional amendment. Nevada passed the legislation in 2019, but Gov. NPV supporters claim, accurately, that a direct election for president would reduce or eliminate the possibility that a fringe candidate (like a Ralph Nader or Ron Paul) winning five percent or less of the vote in a single state could serve to defeat a major party candidate from the same side of the political spectrum. Imperfect, because its modern-day blessings -- enhancing coalition building, pluralism, federalism and grass-roots participation -- are enjoyed only by a minority of states (in any given presidential election 18 or 20), where the battle for electoral votes is competitive for both major parties. This brings us to 196 of the 270 (73%) electoral votes needed to activate the pact just 74 votes away. It gives more voting power to individual voters in smaller states. In the U.S., that means people who lean Democratic live in urban areas, while people who lean Republican live in rural areas. It understands that while the nation is one union, it is also an amalgam of varying experiences and perspectives arrived at via the settings and unique problems surrounding those who live in different places, and that these differences fall within the broad rubric of federalism. To determine the National Popular Vote winner, state election officials simply would tally the nationwide vote for president based on each states official results. sale of united methodist church property. The Electoral College system - the way we really elect our president - has always had its detractors and lost even more public support after the 2016 election, when it became apparent that President-ElectDonald Trump might have lost the nationwide popular vote to Sec. Lawmakers discuss plan to enact National Popular Vote in Michigan. There are pros and cons to both systems. Also the NPV Compact allows states to withdraw from the compact as late as four months before an election. 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%. National Popular Vote - Pros and Cons "The National Popular Vote bill would guarantee the Presidency to the candidate who receives the most popular votes in the entire U.S. The NPVIC is an agreement among states designed to guarantee election of the presidential candidate who wins the most popular votes in the 50 states and Washington, D.C. NPV is grounded in two powers delegated to states by the Constitution: the power to design rules for awarding their electoral votes and the power to enter into interstate In the 2020 election California did not certify their votes until Friday, December 11, only 3 days before the Electoral College met on Monday, December, 14. It seeks to be a bulwark against mass hysteria and the hysteria created by mass media. It would eliminate the threat of a faithless elector. Weve already seen this issue take place with the GOP primaries in 2016. Under the current structure of presidential elections in the U.S., the states become a battleground of red states vs. blue states. 5. The votes of those who do not live in closely divided battleground states effectively count less. Even though we will be able to elect the president by national popular vote using the The National Popular Vote Interstate Compact, eventually the rules for how we elect the president should be an official part of the Constitution. The National Popular Vote (NPV) refers to the concept of allocating a state's presidential electors to the candidate who receives the most votes nationwide regardless of the state results in a presidential election. But sometime in the future the popular vote will change back and lean Republican. In U.S. history, the electoral college winner has failed to secure the popular vote 5 times. The principal flaw in the plan is its assumption that under the plan there will still be only two major parties competing for the presidency in 2020. . "The National Popular Vote Plan." As of July 2020, a National Popular Vote bill has been signed into law in 16 states controlling a total of 196 electoral votes, including 4 small states, 8 medium-sized states, 3 big states (California, Illinois, and New York), and the District of Columbia. For example, if a candidate was very popular in New York City, Los Angeles and other large cities, she might not need to earn votes from other areas of the country. We have seen this outcome in the 2016 Presidential election between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump and in the 2000 election between George H.W. Lastly, it may cause a third-party candidate to prevail and win, which would allow Americans to be given more choices besides the two primary parties (Richards). Would it aid a fight to eliminate first past the post or would it further entrench the established party system voters American voters have expressed disdain for. A faithless elector in the United States is someone who casts an electoral ballot for someone other than the individuals to whom they are pledged. ThoughtCo. 3. Privacy Policy. District Plan CONS Technically still possible, but A LOT hard to do so District 1 = Romney 57% District 2 = Romney 52% District 3 = Romney 70% Gerrymandering. It has been enacted into law in 11 states with 165 electoral votes, and will take effect when enacted by states with 105 more. For the 7 presidential elections between 1992-2016, the Republican candidate has won the Electoral college 3 times. on WordPress.com. Every state is allocated several votes according to the number of senators and representatives in its U.S. Congressional delegation. And thats not how it should be in a democracy. And that would lead to chaos in how political parties campaign for president and could also undermine the legitimacy of the process. Voters in spectator states, including five of the nations 10 most populous states (California, Texas, New York, Illinois, and New Jersey), and 12 of the 13 least populous states (all but New Hampshire) have no real incentive to go to the polls as their votes do not affect the outcome of the election. It would eliminate superfluous votes. pros and cons." dave leip's atlas of u.s. presidential elections. Two-thirds of the campaign events were in four states, Florida, Iowa, Virginia, and Ohio, that year. It would reduce diversity in the election structures. Just 12 Closely Divided Battleground States Got 96% of 2020 Campaign Events. To pass an amendment to change the Constitution the Founding Fathers wisely required approval by 2/3 of both houses of Congress and 3/4 of the state legislatures instead of a simple majority. If enacted by enough states, the National Popular Vote bill would guarantee the presidency to the candidate who receives the most popular votes in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Electing a president who did not have broad regional support could lead to a fractured and less cohesive country, according to the Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections. 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. There are alternatives to winner-take-all that do not involve abandoning the positive aspects of the Electoral College. Even though pre-election polls made conspicuous predictions of Hilary Clinton winning the presidency and . As a result, the bill will take effect when enacted by states possessing an additional 74 electoral votes. This is a situation that has caused controversy in the election years of of 1800, 1876, 1888, 2000 and 2016 when the elected president won the Electoral College and the presidency but did not win the popular vote. For under its plan, the next time the U.S. has very close national vote, a recount would not be of six million votes in one state but of more than 130 million votes in all states and the District of Columbia, all with their own rules for conducting a recount. It could encourage voter turnout. Under the system of proportional representation, any party with a high enough percentage of the vote will receive a seat in the government. Then, election officials in all participating states would choose the electors sworn to support thepresidential candidate who received the largest number of popular votes in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Make a contribution to support Common Cause today. Because every vote is equal inside Ohio or Florida, presidential candidates avidly seek out voters in small, medium, and large towns. Electoral votes are designated among the states based on Census. Removing this system could encourage more people to come out to support their candidate. It knows that a majoritarianism that produces a plurality is not the voice of a majority of the citizenry. Under the Electoral College/Winner-Take-All system votes in small states, like Wyoming or Delaware count double what votes in large states like California or Texas. An individuals vote doesnt make a difference when it is counted against the votes of the delegates in the House of Representatives and Senate. Washington, DC 20005, Common Cause pays tribute to our leader, our friend, and a lifelong advocate for our democracy, Constitution, Courts & Other Democracy Issues, Ensure Fair Districts & Reflective Democracy, Expand Voting Rights & Election Integrity, Promote Free Speech & Accountability in Media, Protect the Constitution, Courts & Other Democracy Reforms. 1. For example, if a state used NPV and voted for candidate A, but candidate B received the most votes nationwide, the state would allocate its presidential electors to candidate B. In the 2020 general election, a ballot proposition attempted to overturn Colorado's membership to the pact, but the measure failed, 52.3% to 47.7% in the referendum. The election is held every four years on the first Tuesday in November and prior to election day, the two candidates endure state-level primaries, caucuses, debates, and conventions. However, in the popular vote, Trump only received 62,984,825 votes against Hillary Clinton's 65,853,516 popular votes. It sees a healthy and vibrant democracy needing the underpinnings of civil society that rests on the sustained and active engagement of the citizenry and promotes approaches that seek to maximize that involvement. and our By entering your email and clicking Sign Up, you're agreeing to let us send you customized marketing messages about us and our advertising partners. A popular vote election would bring the presidential election in line with the rest of the election structures. However, in the popular vote, Trump only received 62,984,825 votes against Hillary Clinton's 65,853,516 popular votes. State Question 820 lays out a statutory framework for a recreational industry that would begin about 90 days after election results are certified. The National Popular Vote Interstate Compact (NPVIC) is an agreement among a group of U.S. states and the District of Columbia to award all their electoral votes to whichever presidential ticket wins the overall popular vote in the 50 states and the District of Columbia. However, some critics argue that the advantages of a direct popular election including reflecting democratic principals, outweigh the disadvantages. By accepting all cookies, you agree to our use of cookies to deliver and maintain our services and site, improve the quality of Reddit, personalize Reddit content and advertising, and measure the effectiveness of advertising. The years-old effort is slowly making its way through state legislatures in hopes of changing the way In 2004, for example, candidates George W. Bush and John Kerry campaigned heavily in states such as Nevada while ignoring political issues in New York, a state that Kerry was sure to win, according to the University of the Pacific. Longley, Robert. However, a popular vote system, although hard to implement, is a more purely democratic system than the Electoral College. Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/the-national-popular-vote-plan-3322047. Today, many electors are bound to vote according to their states' popular vote results, and those who aren't almost always do. The plan would not get rid of the Electoral College. The amendment requires that any change to the rate of compensation for members of Congress can only take effect after a subsequent election in the House of Representatives. However, this also means that regions with a quite low population density will almost have no influence on the election outcome at all since they only have far too few votes to make a real difference. . Resource allocation would be focused on paid advertising, which would negate the need for grassroots activities. A direct popular election also ensures that citizens' votes have equal weight. Each states electoral votes are tallied by Congress in the House chamber by House and Senate representatives on the 6th day of January following the Presidential election. Post author: Post published: June 29, 2022 Post category: Uncategorized Post comments: paris apartment eiffel tower view for sale paris apartment eiffel tower view for sale The NPVC is a proposed interstate compact in which the signatory states agree that they will appoint their presidential electors in accordance with the national popular vote rather than their own state electorate's vote. Some areas may bend the rules of an election by extending voting hours illegally. Image the country thinks it is going to elect the president by National Popular Vote and then changing back to using the old Electoral College/Winner-Take-All system just four months before an election. Currently, the National Popular Vote bill has 172 electoral votes. Heres how. In a closely contested direct popular election, every precinct across the country might require close examination, rather than a handful of states or precincts. Is the National Popular Vote Plan Constitutional? It is not even a liberal or conservative bill. A popular vote election takes all ballots that are cast, counts them, and declares the winner based on who received the most votes. The issue raised by the National Popular Vote campaign is fundamental: What kind of a democracy should America be? 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). Under the electoral college system of voting, the number of representatives a state has in Congress (Senators and Representatives) is the total number of electoral votes it is allowed. The National Popular Vote plan does not do away with the Electoral College system, an action that would require a constitutional amendment. But the national popular vote plan doesn't require a . In U.S. history, there has been one vice-presidential candidate who died after being nominated and one that withdrew from their partys ticket. Under the electoral college system, if a state consistently pulls as leaning to one party, someone who supports the other party may not vote because they feel like there isnt a need to do so. Some states, such as California and Hawaii, both had their bills vetoed by their governors before it was overridden and enacted by state legislators. Each vote would affect each candidate instead of being overlooked due to which state those votes would be coming from. Their answer is simple: one in which every citizen's vote is equal to every other citizen's vote and one in which the winner of the presidential popular vote, no matter how small his or her percentage is of those who voted, would be elected. At that stage, anyone who received an electoral vote is eligible to become the next president. Retrieved from https://samploon.com/electoral-college-and-national-popular-vote-pros-and-cons/, Should the Electoral College Be Abolished, Pros for The Electoral College in the United States, Electoral College is Undemocratic but We Have no Better System, The Electoral College Should Be Terminated, The Electoral College Annotated Bibliography. Similarly, because a national campaign mandates a national message, there would also be a smaller incentive for coalition-building or taking into account the characteristics, needs and desires of citizens in differing states and regions. Common Cause Under the current structure of the electoral college, the focus of a presidential campaign is on the so-called battleground states.