Washington, D.C.: Congressional Quarterly, 1985. 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. It has its pros and cons though, many of which critics debate over. solely those of the author and are not necessarily shared by the Federal Because the presidency represents the whole country? One route would be a constitutional amendment, which would require two-thirds approval from both the House and Senate and ratification by the states, or a constitutional convention called by two-thirds of the state legislatures. Consider the American Bar Associations fact check on whether the Electoral College can be abolished. This proves that popular vote alone should decide who the president is so that it is fair for both. This outdated Electoral College system ought to be removed for a popular vote system since it is arbitrary based on residence, leads campaigns to only appeal to certain groups, and the vote is not directly cast by the people, all leading to decreased voter turnout. distribution of a candidate's popular support should be taken into account alongside the Other believe it is as flawed, if not less flawed, than any other system thought of. in American History and the Direct-Vote Alternative. Cons: Can disregard the will of the majority. The Electoral College comprises 538 electors; each state is allowed one elector for each Representative and Senator (DC is allowed 3 electors as established by the Twenty-Third Amendment). 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. You would see campaigns giving different geographic emphasis. Have your students learn more about the results of one of the following 19th century presidential elections: 1800, 1824, 1836, 1872, 1876, or 1888. Neither one of the candidates are elected from the popular vote. What are some pros and cons of electing a president based on the popular vote? operation). Less populous states are favored, because the number of electors is not proportional to the voters count. [2], The Electoral College was established in 1788 by Article II of the US Constitution, which also established the executive branch of the US government, and was revised by the Twelfth Amendment (ratified June 15, 1804), the Fourteenth Amendment (ratified July 1868), and the Twenty-Third Amendment (ratified Mar. of Presidential Elections 1789-1968. In order to win an election, a candidate must obtain 270 or more electoral votes, or around 50.2% of all votes. The Electoral College was born at the 1787 Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia. State viewpoints, they decided, are This is because the number of ProCon.org. For example, the state of Wyoming has a population of 580,000 but holds 3 electoral votes. a wide audience and to keep on introducing new debates and features to improve your experience. Pierce, Neal R. and Longley, Lawrence D. The People's President: The Electoral College [24], For the 2020 election, electors voted on Dec. 14, and delivered the results on Dec. 23. Having the statistics to understand the ever changing cultures of our country views one candidate to both the state and people could help in the selection of the President and Vice President of the United States. national popular will, the argument goes, the Electoral College reinforces a two party What surprised them? Faithless Electors have never changed the outcome of an enough States to win the needed majority of the Electoral College. Yet it is forces political coalitions to occur within the political parties rather than within the Because of the Electoral College, presidential candidates only need to pay attention to a limited number of states that can swing one way or the other. 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. 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. If the popular vote was the only factor towards presidential election, what would be the incentive for rural areas and states to vote knowing the issues and opinions nearest to them wont be heard? posited Patrick Graham, history and economics teacher in the Upper Schools. Lexington, Mass: Lexington Books, 1973. And the collective opinion of the Cleveland ran again four years later and won back the White House. In 2016, Hillary Clinton won the popular vote by more than one million votes, yet still lost the election on electoral votes. unclear how a direct election of the president could resolve such a deep national conflict 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. The ultimate solution was an indirect method of choosing the president With about 93 percent of the countrys slaves toiling in just five southern states, that region was the undoubted beneficiary of the compromise, increasing the size of the Souths congressional delegation by 42 percent. region over the others or through the domination of large metropolitan areas over the Of those visits, nearly two-thirds took place in the four battlegrounds with the most electoral votes Florida, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and North Carolina. [19], Gautam Mukunda, political scientist at Harvard University , explained that states are given electors based on its representation in the House and Senate, so small states get extra votes. national and State governments which the Founding Fathers intended and which is reflected demolish our federal system of government. 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. Explain that each state and the District of Columbia are given a share of the electoral vote based on population. 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]. In all states but Maine and Nebraska, the winner of each state will take all of that states electoral votes. First, the people would vote for electors, who then would cast an official ballot. They would go across the west coast, east coast, the south [border], maybe jump to Chicago, predicted Jacobson. In fact, it has so many cons to it that the popular vote alone should elect the president. Should the Electoral College be abolished? There have been 7 such Electors in [3] [4] [5] [6], At least 700 amendments have been proposed to modify or abolish the Electoral College. Proponents also point out that, far from diminishing minority interests by depressing c1970. What we see is these candidates now largely ignoring large swaths of the United States where the direction of the votes is a foregone conclusion. With the NPVIC, candidates would be motivated to visit more than just swing states during their campaigns, focusing on winning over individuals rather than states. An election based only on popular vote would centralize the election and decrease the visibility and importance of states. Once more, the United States President and Vice President were elected by an indirect vote system, known as Ellectoral College. People call them faithless electors. In 2016, seven electors 5 Democrats and 2 Republicans broke their promises to vote for their partys nominee, the most ever in history. government. The race between the two candidates is the first one to 270 electors because this is almost half of the total. Changing to a direct election of the president would mathematical process (since the individual Electors are no longer essential to its in 1988, for example, the combined voting age population (3,119,000) of the seven least Pro/Con Arguments | Discussion Questions | Take Action | Sources | More Debates, The debate over the continued use of the Electoral College resurfaced during the 2016 presidential election, when Donald Trump lost the general election to Hillary Clinton by over 2.8 million votes and won the Electoral College by 74 votes. Dr. Robin Jacobson, professor and chair of politics and government at University of Puget Sound, said that One [pro of the Electoral College] is that it makes sure that states that otherwise might feel left out of the process are included despite their small size. Electoral votes incentivize voting in less populated states by increasing and emphasizing the impact of each state. party system. about those outcomes is that few people noticed and even fewer cared. Jefferson County Public Schools (JCPS) board of education is weighing the pros and cons of the district's start time proposal. Already have an account on netivist? electoral vote for the whole State. List two to three ways. Recently, critics have expressed that this system is not as equal as predetermined. voting systems. If enacted, the NPVIC would replace the Electoral College as the official system for electing the president of the United States. Although the Electoral College may have been a necessary element of the government when it was originally created, the system has since become impractical for todays society. For the fifth time in history the President of the United States will be elected without winning the popular vote, thanks to the Ellectoral College system. For example, the state of Wyoming has a population of 580,000 but holds 3 electoral votes. Moving to a popular voteI dont think it will help. mechanism is to make it extremely difficult for third party or independent candidates ever Pros: No winner-take all. Ultimately, they decided that when electing an executive, the Electoral College system would be implemented. Would you like to create a debate and share it with the netivist community? The conclusion taken away from this very definition is that the people of the United States are not really the ones responsible for electing the president. Anyone can read what you share. Why or why not? Fifteen states and the District of Columbia, which together control 196 electoral votes, have signed on to an interstate compact in which they pledge to grant their votes to the winner of the national popular vote. Although the Electoral College is a good system for electing the president, it is time to change. independent candidate were to win the support of even as many as 25% of the voters For years there have been debates about abolishing the Electoral College entirely, with the 2016 election bringing the debate back to the surface. Electors for each State is determined by the number of members it has in the House (which Vote to see result and collect 1 XP. If you already created your netivist account, please log in using the button below. Because there is now an even number of electoral votes, a tie is feasible. The only remarkable thing populations, proponents respond that the United State Senate - with two seats per State It was even a talking point among 2020 Democratic presidential candidates. If you change your mind, you can change your vote simply by clicking on another option. WebThe National Popular Vote Interstate Compact is an agreement where states in the compact award all their electoral votes to the winner of the national popular vote, no matter which presidential candidate wins in their state, says There is too much politicizing in the courts now, and that is a shame. concentrated in a few States while the other candidate maintained a slim popular lead in The Electoral College system is the method by which the President of the United States is elected to office. Gives too few states too much electoral power. forth. majorities only to the Electoral College? I think it might actually inflame [the issue of polarization]. Understand how the Electoral College system works. The Pros and Cons of the Electoral College - SmartAsset The electoral college is a tradition of American politics that's fairly controversial. Each state is authorized a specific amount of electoral votes, based solely on the number of members that state has in Congress. What do you think? The delegates believed that the presidents power should be limited, and that he should be chosen through the system known as the Electoral College. Lastly, an election-related case could find its way to the Supreme Court, which would lend greater importance to the judicial makeup of the court, Professor Wehle said. Electoral College system contributes to the cohesiveness of the country be requiring a In order for the compact to be put in motion, the cumulative electoral votes of participating states must equal or exceed 270 before July 20th in the year of the election. And the American citizens who live in territories like Puerto Rico, Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands are not represented by any electors. The Electoral College has also awarded the presidency to candidates with a plurality of the popular vote (under 50 percent) in a number of cases, notably Abraham Lincoln in 1860, John F. Kennedy in 1960 and Bill Clinton in 1992 and 1996. New York: Chelsea House Publishers, 1971. ProCon.org is the institutional or organization author for all ProCon.org pages. The official general election results indicate that Trump received 304 Electoral College votes and 46.09% of the popular vote (62,984,825 votes), and Hillary Clinton received 227 Electoral College votes and 48.18% of the popular vote (65,853,516 votes). Processes vary from state to state, with some choosing electors during state Republican and Democratic conventions. Ithica: Cornell University Press, 1975. This is true simply because it is extremely difficult for a new or minor party to win enough popular votes in enough States to have a chance of winning the presidency. Although its not detailed in the Constitution, each state delegation would vote on which candidate to support as a group, with the plurality carrying the day, said Akhil Reed Amar, a professor of law and political science at Yale University. Gallup reports 61 percent of Americans support abolishing the Electoral College in favor of the popular vote. [14] [35] [36], Robert Nemanich, math teacher and former elector from Colorado Springs, stated, Do we really want 538 Bob Nemanichs electing our president? 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. One effect of this Texas has 38. People should have more power to vote for their president to have their vote count towards determining the winner. Moreover, they suspected that the citizens would not educated themselves on candidates, and that citizens would not have enough information to make a good judgement. Ask your students what they remember about the 2016 election. Elections, LLC 2019 All Rights Reserved, http://www.archives.gov/federal_register/electoral_college/electoral_college.html, the possibility of electing a minority could take office is if, as in 1888, one candidate's popular support were heavily Students may work individually or in small groups. Many people across the nation believe this election system is flawed and unfair. [23] [26]. Discuss. 29, 1961). Even if they won enough electoral votes The elected President gets a stronger winning image with the number of electors he gets than the reality of popular vote, which gives him more credibility to rule the country. If, for example, a third party or The fact is, they argue, that the original design of our federal system of government was It is uncertain what the effect on the motivation of the voters will be. Currently, Republicans control 26 state delegations, while Democrats control 22. To abolish the Electoral College in favor of a nationwide popular election for president The votes of people in sparsely populated areas have as much weight as those votes of citizens from areas with large populations. 1. However, during the 2000 election, it also appeared that problems in one isolated state (Florida) could influence greatly the overall outcome of the election. After reading the pros and cons on this topic, has your thinking changed? [2] [14], The two main political parties can count on winning the electoral votes in certain states, such as California for the Democratic Party and Indiana for the Republican Party, without worrying about the actual popular vote totals. Like the Electoral College, the College. therefore actually damage minority interests since their votes would be overwhelmed by a College's role in reinforcing a two party system, proponents, as we shall see, find this Constitutional amendment, then it is possible to solve the problem without abolishing the An ever-increasing amount of Americans long for a presidential election to be determined by the popular vote and not the electoral vote. In the United States there is a two party system consisting of the Republicans and the Democrats. In response to these arguments, proponents of [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. You would imagine [candidates] paying attention to where most people are living, because now thats how theyll get the most votes. absolute majority of popular votes). For as things stand now, no one region contains the absolute majority (270) of In this process of assimilation, third party movements are If you would not change the voting process, make a list of reforms and why you would not choose to enact them. Listen to a Constitution Center podcast exploring the pros and cons of the Electoral College. That is to say, when the electoral vote outcome is so obviously If so, how? ", ProCon.org. WebI believe in the power of democracy and the ability to vote. they point out, president would be selected either through the domination of one populous WebElections are complex processes, and direct elections have both advantages and disadvantages. The only way that I think this could dramatically change is with public pressure. Most states use the winner-take-all method, in which all electoral votes are awarded to the winner of the popular vote in that state. Thirty-three states and the District of Columbia have laws that require electors to vote for their pledged candidate. A third way of electing a minority president Although Al Gore won the popular vote, George W. Bush earned more electoral votes after a contested Florida recount and a Supreme Court decision. The number of electors is based on the total of House of Representative members (435), Senate members (100) and 3 additional voters to represent the District of Columbia. Electoral College? Conversely, the major parties have districting and by guaranteeing each State at least one Representative) by changing it to Indeed, if we become obsessed with government by popular majority as the only Press, 1981. Pennsylvania is tied between Republican and Democratic representatives, and Michigan has seven Democrats, six Republicans and one independent. Excerpt from an original publication: Kimberling, William C. (1992). The Electoral College, Americans have their own opinions on how it is running and how it contributes to the presidential election. Your comment is being posted. [21] [22], A Sep. 2020 Gallup poll found 61% of Americans were in favor of abolishing the Electoral College, up 12 points from 2016. Moving to a popular voteI dont think it will help. The winner of each district is awarded that districts electoral vote, and the winner of the state-wide vote is then awarded the states remaining two electoral votes. What can your students conclude? The New York Times defines The Electoral College as a group of people that elects the president and the vice president of the United States (Bromwich 2016). While its actual population makes up only 0.18% of the U.S. population, their electoral votes are 1.1% of all electoral votes. Like the Electoral College, the NPVIC is a subject of much debate. Should the winner-take-all basis be changed to a proportional basis in every state? Additionally, Dr. Jacobson discussed the possibility of voter depression across all states under the NPVIC. Opponents of the Electoral College are participation. parties which tend to the center of public opinion rather than dozens of smaller political Consider how you felt about the issue before reading this article. by requiring a distribution of popular support to be elected president. national popular majority. occasionally come close to this sort of outcome, the question here is whether the Students share their findings. Electoral College, the U.S. House of Representatives would select the president in presidential candidates split the electoral votes among them such that no one obtained the Lara Maupin has a Masters Degree in Secondary Social Studies Education from George Washington University and a Bachelors Degree in Anthropology and Philosophy from Mount Holyoke College. And since ethnic minority groups in the United States happen to Two exceptions are Maine and Nebraska, which rely on congressional districts to divvy up electoral votes. Some critics say this method disproportionately affects minority votes. Politicians are usually pretty cautious when it comes to these things because it is not a good long-term option with demographics in this country starting to change. As has been shown by analyses of multiple past elections, the Electoral College does favors one major party over another. [3] [4] [5] [6], The Founding Fathers created the Electoral College as a compromise between electing the president via a vote in Congress only or via a popular vote only. The Electoral College also inspires many what-if scenarios, some of them more likely than others. This will allow us to keep netivist alive and available to going to be for one candidate or the other, an occasional Elector casts a vote for some 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 Nebraska and Maine, the candidate that wins the states overall popular vote receives two electors, and one elector from each congressional district is apportioned to the popular vote winner in that district. There are arguments that the states with smaller populations are overrepresented in the Electoral College, because every state gets at least 3 electors regardless of population. In other words, such a system Elections problems can be isolated in one state, therefore limiting the effect on the whole election.