The Pros and Cons of the Electoral College - SmartAsset The electoral college is a tradition of American politics that's fairly controversial. 41 States (with 80% of U.S. population) will be Ignored in the 2024 Presidential Election. Change), You are commenting using your Facebook account. While we look further into the National Popular Vote, lets investigate some of its pro and cons for the American democracy. Privacy Policy. 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. Thats how politics works in America. At the moment, 98 more electoral votes are needed to pass this bill in all 50 states (National Conference of State Legislators). Although this may limit the amount of diversity that occurs in office, and may generate extra financial costs, the argument could be made that these risks outweigh the results of an election where a majority of states, not a majority of people, put someone into office. The country could become less stable and divided if he or she did not have a vast amount of support (Richards). Second, some believe itll intensify election problems, such as illegally extended voting hours or irregularly high voter turnout (Richards). It would eliminate superfluous votes. Among the others: By its very size and scope, a national direct election will lead to nothing more than a national media campaign, which would propel the parties' media consultants to inflict upon the entire nation what has been heretofore limited to the so-called battleground states: an ever-escalating, distorted arms race of tit-for-tat unanswerable attack advertising polluting the airwaves, denigrating every candidate and eroding citizen faith in their leaders and the political process as a whole. You can use essay samples to find ideas and inspiration for your paper. The first advantage allows for electoral votes to be fairer than the Electoral College (Richards). In the case of a tie, there are contingencies in place to determine which person will serve in the elected office. Robert Longley is a U.S. government and history expert with over 30 years of experience in municipal government and urban planning. A popular vote election would bring the presidential election in line with the rest of the election structures. In 2016, Gary Johnson received 4.48 million votes and 0 electoral votes, but the potential is always there for this to happen. 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. It was a great idea in 1787 but the country has changed since 1787 and the people today want to elect the president by a simple, direct popular vote where whoever gets the most votes wins like we do in every other election in the country. Presidential candidates have no reason to poll, visit, advertise, organize, or campaign in states that they cannot possibly win or lose; in 2016, 68% of presidential campaign visits took place in just six states. The bill has crossed paths with 36 legislative chambers and has been sponsored or voted for by 3,112 state legislators (National Popular Vote). 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. However, many people believe that a direct popular election is more democratic and fair than the Electoral College. Colorado is on the verge of joining a nationwide movement that could eventually change how we choose the next president of the United States. The selection of presidential electors is specifically entrusted to the states by the Constitution. That's almost 1.5 billion . Lincoln Chafee (D) made his state the latest to sign on. America is known to have the costliest, prolonged, and complicated structure when electing a head of state. and our 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. 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. 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. It would eliminate the Congressional provisions for a non-majority election. 4. Yet, by May 2021, 15 states and Washington, D.C., had signed onto the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact. "The National Popular Vote bill would guarantee the Presidency to the candidate who receives the most popular votes in the entire U.S. It would eliminate the threat of a faithless elector. Louisiana voters should decide who receives Louisiana's electoral votes. The popular vote currently gives every citizenCalifornians and Texans, Hawaiians and Mainers, Alabamans and Oregoniansan equal say in choosing the president. 7. The National Popular Vote Bill is not a Democrat or Republican bill. 3. In U.S. history, there has been one vice-presidential candidate who died after being nominated and one that withdrew from their partys ticket. All other elections in the U.S. are through the popular vote. Lastly, the biggest problem that the Electoral College produces is the reality that a persons vote really doesnt matter (Black). 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. 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. [Add switching votes of losing party to the other partys voter totals in every state using the Electoral College/Winner-Take-All system (except for 5 EC votes in Maine and Nebraska that are awarded proportionally instead of by Winner-Take-All.]. After the 2016 presidential election, political science expert Nate Silver wrote that, since the swing states are not likely to support any plan that might reduce their influence over control of the White House, the National Popular Vote bill will not succeed unless the predominately Republican red states adopt it. There would be fewer opportunities to illegally alter the results of an election. The National Popular Vote plan does not do away with the Electoral College system, an action that would require a constitutional amendment. 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. Going to the popular vote would eliminate this issue altogether. cons of the national popular vote planchicago religious demographics. Our state will likely vote overwhelmingly for the Republican challenger to Barack Obama in November. 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. 3. This was the intent of the Founding Fathers. Secondly, it creates a minimalist depiction in the minds of the candidate towards more than 40 states. In contrast, in a direct popular election, each vote matters equally. Mayors, governors, and senators are all elected by a simple majority. Ken Bickers. The winner would receive one vote per congressional district won with the winner of the state popular vote gaining a two electoral votes. To date, the bill has passed at least one legislative chamber in 9 states possessing 82 combined electoral votes: AR, AZ, ME, MI, MN, NC, NV, OK, and OR. 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. A direct popular election would make it more possible for third-party candidates to succeed and would also encourage political parties to become more radical and extreme. Longley, Robert. The alternative view of democracy is more complex; it is one that includes but is not limited to the pursuit of equality. And unlike direct elections, either would provide an incentive for grass-roots activity, coalition building and enhanced citizen participation. Even the minority party wouldnt be encouraged to negotiate because they could simply stall until the next election. However, a popular vote system, although hard to implement, is a more purely democratic system than the Electoral College. By rejecting non-essential cookies, Reddit may still use certain cookies to ensure the proper functionality of our platform. Most recently, the bill was passed by a bipartisan 4016 vote in the Republican-controlled Arizona House, 2818 in Republican-controlled Oklahoma Senate, 574 in Republican-controlled New York Senate, and 3721 in Democratic-controlled Oregon House." 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. Others may struggle to meet higher than expected voter turnout levels. The National Popular Vote initiative transpired in 2006. Note: Today we are in a phase where the popular vote in presidential elections leans Democratic. Also the NPV Compact allows states to withdraw from the compact as late as four months before an election. Less would get done, which would affect the needs of households at the local level. It makes things easier for extreme parties to gain representation. Two-thirds of the campaign events were in four states, Florida, Iowa, Virginia, and Ohio, that year. 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. As of December 2020, the National Popular Vote bill has been adopted by 15 states and the District of Columbia, controlling 196 electoral votes: CA, CO, CT, DC, DE, HI, IL, MA, MD, NJ, NM, NY, OR, RI, VT, and WA. 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. An individuals vote doesnt make a difference when it is counted against the votes of the delegates in the House of Representatives and Senate. It has been enacted into law in 11 states with 165 electoral votes, and will take effect when enacted by states with 105 more. Over the years, the National Popular Vote bill has been introduced in the legislatures of all 50 states. It would require an Amendment in the U.S. for presidential elections. Right now, the President of the United States is not elected by a popular vote. In U.S. history, the electoral college winner has failed to secure the popular vote 5 times. But the biggest problem with changing how we elect our president using the NPV Compact is that its too easy to change it back. Currently, 48 of the 50 states follow the winner-take-all rule. It is not even a liberal or conservative bill. Or the opposite could be true. 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. Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz often split about 60% of the GOP vote, which allowed Donald Trump to win early primaries with 35% of the vote. Under the current structure of presidential elections in the U.S., the states become a battleground of red states vs. blue states. The winner would receive all of the compact states electoral votes, giving them at least the necessary 270 to win the White House. 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. According to Article II, Section 1, "Each State shall appoint, in such Manner as the Legislature thereof may direct, a Number of Electors, equal to the whole Number of Senators and Representatives to which the State may be entitled in the Congress." With the polarization in global politics today, especially in the United States, a switch to the popular vote would likely increase costs even further. Longley, Robert. For the popular vote, however, Hillary Clinton received 65.8 million votes, while Donald Trump received 62.9 million votes. 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. Of the 538 Electoral College votes available, Donald J. Trump received 304 votes, Hillary Clinton received 227 votes, and seven votes went to others: three for Colin Powell, one for Faith Spotted Eagle, one for John Kasich, one for Ron Paul, and one for Bernie Sanders). 1, 2023 at 1:16 PM PST. 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. It would reduce the threshold necessary to win the office. When a popular vote is held for a national office, the election becomes more about platform issues than local issues. 4. That would likely reduce the number of voters who cast a ballot in each election as most people are more concerned about local impacts than national policies. Opines that the national popular vote plan is the wrong way to abolith the electoral college. All samples were added by students. Feb 25, 2023. Advantages of the NPV Interstate Compact 1. The danger of NPV is that it will undermine the complex and vital underpinnings of American democracy.