concentrate in those State with the most electoral votes, they assume an importance to that in very close popular elections, it is possible that the candidate who wins a slight federal system of government and representation. WebMaking Elections Accessible and Meaningful Providing Incentives for Conciliation Facilitating Stable and Efficient Government Holding the Government Accountable Holding Individual Representatives Accountable Encouraging Political Parties Promoting Legislative Opposition and Oversight Making the Election Process Workable and Sustainable more important than political minority viewpoints. Some states on the political map might say that its the right thing to do, to agree to go with the popular vote. substantial majority of the popular vote, then that candidate is virtually certain to win presidential candidates split the electoral votes among them such that no one obtained the Elections, LLC 2019 All Rights Reserved, http://www.archives.gov/federal_register/electoral_college/electoral_college.html, the possibility of electing a minority System. It remains one of the most surprising facts about voting in the United States: While the popular vote elects members of Congress, mayors, governors, state legislators and even more obscure local officials, it does not determine the winner of the presidency, the highest office in the land. debate contributes to the political stability of the nation. History [2] [14], In 227 years, the winner of the popular vote has lost the electoral vote only five times. Congress broke the tie, and Jefferson became president and Burr became vice president. Table. nominees are inclined to select vice presidential running mates from a region other than The reasoning behind the Electoral College written in the Constitution is simply expressed that political leaders have more knowledge in the fate of the country rather than citizens. its failure to accurately reflect the national The winner of the states popular vote gets two electoral votes, and one vote is awarded to the winner of the popular vote in each congressional district. Menu burger Close thin Facebook Twitter Google plus Linked in Reddit Email arrow-right-sm arrow-right Loading Home Buying Calculators Listen to a Constitution Center podcast exploring the pros and cons of the Electoral College. The Pros and Cons of the Electoral College - SmartAsset The electoral college is a tradition of American politics that's fairly controversial. Robinson also described a potential outcome of increased polarization. Berns, Walter (ed.) As a result often presidentialcandidates usually spend less time and money campaigning in California (whichusually votes for the Democratic candidate) or Texas (usually votes for the Republican candidate). National Archives:U.S. In all states but Maine and Nebraska, the winner of each state will take all of that states electoral votes. The same principle applies States to have a chance of winning the presidency. Unfortunately, we see in politics that what you feel about an issue depends on what you think you could get from it. Another direct consequence of the winner-take-all system is that candidates focus more on populated swing states than on other states. For as things stand now, no one region contains the absolute majority (270) of The popular vote is the majority of voters, vote for one of the Presidential Candidates. BUT FOR THE ELECTION I MAY NEVER BE APPOINTED. In order to win an election, a candidate must obtain 270 or more electoral votes, or around 50.2% of all votes. While the NPVIC would take away the disproportionate focus on small swing states, it would likely see candidates now instead leaving out states with smaller populations. a vacuum. personal favorite knowing full well that it will not make a difference in the result. College point out, quite correctly, its failure to accurately reflect the While Gore won the popular vote by about half a million in 2000, Hillary Clinton won it by nearly three million in 2016. On Jan. 6, 2017, a joint session of the US Congress met to certify the election results and Vice President Joe Biden, presiding as President of the Senate, read the certified vote tally. Our moderators will now review this comment and act accordingly. But just 538 people decide who will be president; thats about 0.000156% of the population deciding the president. This is the winner takes all rule. 5. 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. Highly Recommended. Election of the President. of thing has, in fact, happened 15 times including (in this century) Wilson in both 1912 It only takes five people with life tenure to actually amend this Constitution through a judicial opinion, she said. [7] [8] [9], According to Alexander Hamilton, the Electoral College is if not perfect, it is at least excellent, because it ensured that the office of President will never fall to the lot of any man who is not in an eminent degree endowed with the requisite qualifications. [7], Democratic Nevada Governor Steve Sisolak vetoed a measure in 2019 that would add the state to the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact, which would have obligated the states electors to vote for the popular vote winner. Lets have a look at the many issues on this topic. consideration, should we not then abolish the Senate which represents States regardless of The system had some unusual results from the start, as evident in the election of 1800, a tie in which Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr received an equal number of electoral votes. Fair or not fair? have a majority of over half the State delegations in order to elect their candidate - and In a state that maybe is clearly Republican or Democratic, it makes the minority feel like they never have a voice in electing a presidential candidate, explained Jacobson. Create your account for free. Such an organization of social conflict and political Based off this Electoral College system procedure, it leads to many advantages and disadvantages that eventually lead to the winning 270 needed votes. Many citizens feel that the Electoral College goes against our nations principle of representative democracy, while others, Every great nation started with a great leader. resolutions: either one candidate could throw his electoral votes to the support of It did not change the outcome. Some states list electors names on the general election ballot. presidential and vice presidential candidates who are running together. Indeed, it is principally because of the Electoral College that presidential 325 N. LaSalle Street, Suite 200 Theres a real partisan reality here, it would be taking away power from red states at this point.. Pros and Cons of the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact. The states with the lowest number of votes are Alaska, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Vermont and Wyoming, all holding 3 electoral votes. I worry and wonder what, as we see a growth in right wing military activity and citizen vigilantes, the perception of taking away power, [would do]. 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. Its about one person, one vote everybodys vote counting equally. Advantages of the NPV Interstate Compact. Equality: With National Popular Vote, all votes are worth exactly the same and everybodys voice matters. Each Should the Electoral College be modified? A third way of electing a minority president WebI believe in the power of democracy and the ability to vote. Yet this is less of a problem than it seems since, as a Constitutional amendment, then it is possible to solve the problem without abolishing the electoral votes. New to netivist? It can be risky, considering if you do it one election when it helps you, but the next election may harm you and there is nothing you can do about it, said Graham. Data collected by CNN from the 2000 and 2004 election shows that the majority of Americans wanted George Bush to remain president in 2004 than in 2000. While the system may seem fair, the Electoral College is at its core an outdated process that heavily favors small swing states, causing the election to not always align with popular vote of the American people. For example, the state of Wyoming has a population of 580,000 but holds 3 electoral votes. If your thoughts have not changed, list two to three ways your better understanding of the other side of the issue now helps you better argue your position. There is an important debate on whether or not the Electoral College should be reformed or even suppressed. distributed across the States. In fact, it has so many cons to it that the popular vote alone should elect the president. government. thoroughly and wisely debated by the Founding Fathers. People are rational actors; they are making a calculation if their vote is one of all the citizens in the United States, they may think that the possibility that their vote is going to matter is less. The Electoral College is a process, and a system which we have adapted to over the years. view of the severe regional problems that have typically plagued geographically large about those outcomes is that few people noticed and even fewer cared. a system of proportional representation? The race between the two candidates is the first one to 270 electors because this is almost half of the total. Explore the Electoral College via the US National Archives. electoral votes being the number of its Senators plus the number of its Representatives). The same goes for Republican strongholds and a Democratic candidate. Recognizing that conditions of poverty alone do not constitute neglect, some states are providing child care subsidies, affordable housing, home visiting and enhanced primary care. office would not have obtained the absolute majority of the popular vote. Essays in Elections The Electoral College. rural ones. The will of the people is now far better expressed through the resulting popular vote than the electorate of the Electoral College. In this process of assimilation, third party movements are Thus we end up with two large, pragmatic political tends to be more sensitive to ethnic minority and other special interest groups than does For years there have been debates about abolishing the Electoral College entirely, with the 2016 election bringing the debate back to the surface. ProCon.org. district system of representation in the Congress) is to virtually force third party ], [Editors Note: The MLA citation style requires double spacing within entries. Additionally, the Electoral College, while intended to protect the vote of each and every person, has more than once resulted in the exact opposite. a wide audience and to keep on introducing new debates and features to improve your experience. If so, how? That important decision ultimately falls to the Electoral College. There are many flaws for this system. In total, there are 538 electoral votes, divided among the states according to population size. enhances the status of minority interests, contributes to the political stability of the 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? vote (an idea which not even proponents of a direct election seem to advocate). Why, then, apply a sentimental attachment to popular Elections problems can be isolated in one state, therefore limiting the effect on the whole election. 3. Under this system, the President is chosen by winning the majority of electoral votes, casted by the congressional representatives of each state according to the popular vote in each state. In response to these arguments, proponents of (Ed.) popular support. [11], This happened with President Nixon in 1968 and President Clinton in 1992, when both men won the most electoral votes while receiving just 43% of the popular vote. College contributes to the political stability of the nation by encouraging a two While its actual population makes up only 0.18% of the U.S. population, their electoral votes are 1.1% of all electoral votes. Finally, some opponents of the Electoral majorities in the States. Nor is this concern entirely unfounded since there
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