However that presumably rare exception happened in the 2000 election when Florida could not complete their statewide recount in time for the Electoral College deadline and the Supreme Court forced Florida to use their first vote count without a statewide recount. Cons of Electoral College. 1. The Pros and Cons of the Electoral College - SmartAsset The electoral college is a tradition of American politics that's fairly controversial. Without any sort of broad support, the politics of the country could become even more fractured than they already are. However, in the popular vote, Trump only received 62,984,825 votes against Hillary Clinton's 65,853,516 popular votes. 2. This advance is referred to as the winner-take-all approach. Under the system of proportional representation, any party with a high enough percentage of the vote will receive a seat in the government. Why National Popular Vote Is a Bad Idea | HuffPost Latest News amazon web services address herndon va custom airbrush spray tan near me custom airbrush spray tan near me 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. 3. Right now, the President of the United States is not elected by a popular vote. Electoral College vs. National Popular Vote - BohatALA Would you like to get a custom essay? 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. That means a candidate who receives a majority of their votes in a high-delegate state, such as California, could make a dramatic impact on the rest of the election. If the National Popular Vote bill was secured within the American government, it would protect every vote and would allow those votes to equally matter in the presidential election. In 2016, Florida had 29 electoral votes and 9.4 million voters, created a voter value of 0.72. When the Constitution was set in place in 1789, the U.S. elected its first president. According to the Constitution, the Electoral College is a compromise between election of the President by a vote in Congress and election of the President by a popular vote of qualified citizens (National Archives). The NPV is a multi-state agreement that, when active, would ensure that the presidential candidate who wins the popular vote nationally also wins in the Electoral College. A candidate can win the popular vote in enough states to win a majority of electoral votes but still lose the popular vote nationally. They have only won the popular vote once. 4. 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. The horror of a potential national recount is only one of the dangers direct presidential elections poses. cons of the national popular vote plan National Popular Vote: Circumventing the United States Constitution cons of the national popular vote plan There are logistical issues that are managed at the local level in each election. It gives more voting power to individual voters in smaller states. Under the current structure of presidential elections in the U.S., the states become a battleground of red states vs. blue states. Six Reasons to Reject National Popular Vote - Pelican Policy This type of system would give the individual voter a much more significant influence. In fact, the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact, which has now been adopted by 15 states and the District of Columbia, totaling 196 electoral votes, is an actionable and realistic . She graduated magna cum laude from Brandeis University with bachelor's degrees in creative writing, English/American literature and international studies. Activating the National Popular Vote compact would reshape our . The National Bonus Plan was proposed by historian Arthur Schlesinger, Jr. It would eliminate superfluous votes. Facts support national popular vote | The Hill The Electoral College is very undemocratic and riddled with issues. Do you have information you want to share with HuffPost. In contrast, in a direct popular election, each vote matters equally. Is this a solution to first past the post or is it merely reinforcing our current two party system? 5. First it would be relatively easy to implement. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email. Electoral College and National Popular Vote Pros and Cons PDF The Direct Election Plan - tesd.net In contrast, other issues related to the federal government are not exclusively entrusted to the states, and therefore the states lack the power to alter them. Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/the-national-popular-vote-plan-3322047. National Popular Vote Plan page 3 that non-member states that fail to hold such elections will not be included in the determination of 'the national popular vote winner.' This sidesteps the problem and provides an incentive for all states (non-members as well as members) to (continue to) hold such elections. Thats the way it has been in this country for a long time. A Critique of the National Popular Vote | Cato Institute The Fatally Flawed National Popular Vote Plan | Cato at Liberty Blog 6. During a popular vote, a candidate who withdraws from the race or dies before the election can be held could still be on the ballot. Analyzes how william c. kimberling, the deputy director of the federal election commission, is a credible author over the issue. Join the thousands across the country who instantly rally when there is a threat to our democracy. Every state is allocated several votes according to the number of senators and representatives in its U.S. Congressional delegation. Evidence as to how a nationwide presidential campaign would be run can be found by examining the way presidential candidates currently campaign inside battleground states. Advantages and Disadvantages of the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact In the 2016 Presidential Election if the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact had been in effect the winner of the national popular vote, Hillary Clinton, would have become president instead of Donald Trump. The appeal of NPV is the simplicity of its message. Instead, it modifies the winner-take-all rule in a way its supporters say would assure that every vote will matter in every state in every presidential election. . Second, some believe itll intensify election problems, such as illegally extended voting hours or irregularly high voter turnout (Richards). N.p., n.d. Definition and Examples, Learn How Many Total Electoral Votes There Are. That would increase the amount of polarization being experienced in politics today because there would be less of a need to compromise. The National Popular Vote Plan to Bypass the Electoral College - ThoughtCo A popular vote election would bring the presidential election in line with the rest of the election structures. The popular vote eliminates this issue too. Lastly, the biggest problem that the Electoral College produces is the reality that a persons vote really doesnt matter (Black). Currently, candidates focus more on swing and battleground states to help them gain those electoral votes. 9. The National Popular Vote plan is a bill passed by participating state legislatures agreeing that they will cast all of their electoral votes for the presidential candidate winning the nationwide popular vote. Electoral College pros and cons: is popular vote better? - netivist 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. 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 National Popular Vote compact would have the same effect as a constitutional amendment to abolish the Electoral College but has the benefit of retaining the power to control presidential elections in states hands. After all, is said and done, the candidate who attains the largest number of votes can still lose. Inkwell | Everything You Need to Know About the National Popular Vote 2. It makes things easier for extreme parties to gain representation. The states' approval of the compact is a victory for democracy and the principle of "one person, one vote." It would eliminate the threat of a faithless elector. every decade states are redistricted could be redrawn to capture house seats and corrupt the Presidential election 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. Opines that the national popular vote plan is the wrong way to abolith the electoral college. Advantages and Disadvantages of the National Popular Vote Interstate The bill has passed one chamber in 12 additional states with 96 electoral votes. On a close popular vote, often defined as a difference of 0.5% or less in the tabulated results, an automatic recount would likely be triggered. cons of the national popular vote plan - vidasproductivas.org Because every vote is equal inside Ohio or Florida, presidential candidates avidly seek out voters in small, medium, and large towns. Because a direct election would be, by definition, national and resource allocation would be overwhelmingly dominated by paid television advertising, there would be little impetus for grass-roots activity. A close election would trigger the need for a full recount. It could help to reduce partisanship. If some of the 50 states and DC cannot certify their popular votes by the December deadline that could create a constitutional crisis where we would not have all of the state Electoral College votes certified by the time the Electoral College is required to vote according to the Constitution. 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. On Dec. 22, 2016, the results were certified in all 50 states. National Popular Vote compact pros and cons. Many cities and school districts, under threat of a lawsuit by a Malibu attorney, have already adopted or are in the process of changing to district elections rather than remaining citywide or . In Maine, both houses of the legislature passed the bill in 2019, but it failed at the final enactment step. 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. Under the electoral college, the majority votes of states assign electoral votes to a candidate, which then creates a majority total required for a victory. Rebekah Richards is a professional writer with work published in the "Atlanta Journal-Constitution," "Brandeis University Law Journal" and online at tolerance.org. To determine the National Popular Vote winner, state election officials simply would tally the nationwide vote for president based on each states official results. 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. As of now, 15 states and Washington, D.C. have joined the National Popular Vote compact: Connecticut, Rhode Island, Vermont, Hawaii, Massachusetts, Maryland, Washington, New Jersey, Illinois, New York, California, Colorado, New Mexico, Delaware and Oregon. The second advantage is that the all votes would be equally weighed (Richards). 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. National Popular Vote (NPV) was founded in 2006 by lottery scratch-card inventor John Koza and election lawyer Barry Fadem to lobby for an "interstate compact" for states to deliver their electoral votes for President to the "winner" of the national popular vote. https://www.thoughtco.com/the-national-popular-vote-plan-3322047 (accessed March 4, 2023). Wyoming had just 3 electoral votes, but only had 255,000 voters as well. 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. State Question 820 lays out a statutory framework for a recreational industry that would begin about 90 days after election results are certified. A candidate could be elected without the popular vote. Although the 20th Amendment to the Constitution provides clarity to this situation, that process is based on the electoral college. You are also agreeing to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. Resource allocation would be focused on paid advertising, which would negate the need for grassroots activities. Regional candidates could secure enough votes to win a national election. The only election in the United States which is not governed by the popular vote is the presidential election. But if some non-member Also the NPV Compact allows states to withdraw from the compact as late as four months before an election. Imagine a scenario where a presidential candidate focuses on Los Angeles, New York City, Portland, OR and Seattle. As of December 2020, the bill has been fully adopted predominately by Democratic-majority blue states which delivered the 14 largest vote shares for Barack Obama in the 2012 Presidential Election. Hence, the National Popular Vote plan is an interstate compact a type of state law authorized by the U.S. Constitution that enables states to enter into a legally enforceable, contractual obligation to undertake agreed joint actions, which may be delayed in implementation until a requisite number of states join in. This blog post is a joint effort with Leslie Francis, former executive director of the Democratic National Committee and Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. In countries where the concept of popular votes is in place, every vote has an equal weight regarding the election outcome. The winner would receive one vote per congressional district won with the winner of the state popular vote gaining a two electoral votes. This post was published on the now-closed HuffPost Contributor platform. National Popular Vote (NPV) - InfluenceWatch List of the Cons of Using the Popular Vote 1. In summary, a popular vote is simply a vote in which the individual or issue with the most total votes from a population of voters is the winner. A popular vote system would significantly impact voters and turnout. Change). District Plan by Hannah Patzer - Prezi Donald Trump won the presidential election by securing 304 electoral votes, compared to Hillary Clintons 227 electoral votes. a plan for a national popular vote could undermine the . 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. 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. Removing this system could encourage more people to come out to support their candidate. 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. The last amendment, the 27th Amendment to the Constitution, was ratified nearly 200 years after it was originally proposed. Candidates get one vote for every congressional district they win, and then two votes for winning the state-wide vote. It is not even a liberal or conservative bill. Maine and Nebraska are the only two states that are not affected by this approach. It awards all the bonus votes to the winner of the popular vote. The Electoral College was established in the Constitution to protect minority interests and mitigate the possibility of a regional candidate. 1. The method works by electing one elector within each congressional district by popular vote and selecting the remaining two electors by a statewide popular vote. When a popular vote is held for a national office, the election becomes more about platform issues than local issues. 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. The danger of NPV is that it will undermine the complex and vital underpinnings of American democracy. The alternative view of democracy is more complex; it is one that includes but is not limited to the pursuit of equality. That view of democracy recognizes the existence and desirability of organized interests and enshrines that principle under the concept of pluralism. The selection of presidential electors is specifically entrusted to the states by the Constitution. National Popular Vote These battleground or swing states receive 7% more federal grants, twice as many presidential disaster declarations, more Superfund enforcement exemptions, and more No Child Left Behind law exemptions (National Popular Vote). This has occurred in 5 of the nation's 56 presidential elections, most recently in 2016. By rejecting non-essential cookies, Reddit may still use certain cookies to ensure the proper functionality of our platform. The NPV movement seeks to create an unfair and unconstitutional system that diminishes the voting rights of citizens throughout the country and raises the prospect of increased voter fraud and. In the 2016 election, "swing states" that might vote Republican or Democrat like Wisconsin were targets of candidates Donald J. Trump and Hillary R. Clinton. Instead, each state and Washington D.C. is assigned a certain number of electoral votes based on its population. As a result, the bill will take effect when enacted by states possessing an additional 74 electoral votes. Less would get done, which would affect the needs of households at the local level. However, in the popular vote, Trump only received 62,984,825 votes against Hillary Clinton's 65,853,516 popular votes. The framers enacted the provisions relating to the Electoral College to allow for state innovation. There are a number of pros for this method. Nevada passed the legislation in 2019, but Gov. Candidates feel these states need a little bit more of their attention and apply pressure to supply these states with solutions to their problems in order to gain their vote. The National Popular Vote Interstate Compact collectively apportions votes to the winner of the overall popular vote without a constitutional amendment abolishing the electoral college or the assent of Congress. This move would ensure that the Presidency would be given to the candidate that received the most popular votes all 50 states and the District of Columbia. As a result, the percentage of popular votes secured by Donald Trump was just 46.4% in comparison with Hilary Clinton, who secured 48.5% of the votes. 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. 5. OKLAHOMA CITY Oklahomans will head to the polls March 7 to decide if the state will become the 22nd in the country to legalize recreational marijuana for use by anyone 21 and older. But the national popular vote plan doesn't require a . Proportional Plan Politicians would focus on fewer swing states (Bigger states more potential votes) 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. An electoral college would solve . It has been enacted into law in 11 states with 165 electoral votes, and will take effect when enacted by states with 105 more. The Electoral College system, however imperfect, serves this broader view of democracy. And finally, the Electoral College doesnt work today anywhere near how the Founding Fathers intended it to work when they created it back in 1787. 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). Currently, the National Popular Vote bill has 172 electoral votes. Now, the states are considering the National Popular Vote plan, a system that, while not doing away with the Electoral College system, would modify it to ensure that the candidate winning the national popular vote is ultimately elected president. Pros And Cons Of Popular Vote - 558 Words | Studymode You can find out more about our use, change your default settings, and withdraw your consent at any time with effect for the future by visiting Cookies Settings, which can also be found in the footer of the site. But sometime in the future the popular vote will change back and lean Republican. Even the minority party wouldnt be encouraged to negotiate because they could simply stall until the next election. Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in: You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. That's almost 1.5 billion . 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. In the 2016 election, only 58 percent of eligible voters went to the polls. Bosque de Palabras 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. Many of these states dont participate in campaign visits or get televised ads. 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. 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. It would be a national mandate to put someone in office, even if that winning candidate received less than 50% of the vote. Probably the NPV Compact would be enacted into law with as little as a simple majority of the states and possibly even less. 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. Over the long run the countrys popular vote in presidential elections has roughly been equally split between Republican and Democratic.*. That means every state is allowed a minimum of 3 electoral votes. and our In 2016, Gary Johnson received 4.48 million votes and 0 electoral votes, but the potential is always there for this to happen. Just 12 Closely Divided Battleground States Got 96% of 2020 Campaign Events. Ten reasons I support the National Popular Vote | MinnPost After all, the Electoral College makes it possible that a candidate who wins the majority of the votes could still lose the election. 9. Research & Policy - National Conference of State Legislatures Should that happen, then the final decision of who gets to serve as President of the United States is taken away from individual voters. what connection type is known as "always on"? The electoral college leads to a heavy emphasis on swing states and also typically over-represents citizens in rural states. That would give the Compact states only 3 days( and two of those days were weekend days) to certify their state votes. Definition and Examples. 3. Under the plan, Michigan's 15 Electoral . Home| Government| Elections| Electoral College| Electoral College Pros And Cons. In fact, let's tally up all the votes cast for president between 1932 and 2008. The National Popular Vote Plan. A majority of 270 electoral votes is required to elect the president. Steve Sisolak vetoed it. 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. But don't forget, Bush won the popular vote four years later by three million votes. 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. The National Popular Vote Interstate Compact is an agreement where states in the compact award all their electoral votes to the winner of the . The compact is designed to ensure that the candidate who receives the most votes nationwide is elected president, and it . NPV is more than a third of the way to its goal. Common Cause If the presidential election were switched to the popular vote, then it would only take about 35% of the vote for a candidate to win.