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. Mukunda stated, The fact that in presidential elections people in Wyoming have [nearly four] times the power of people in California is antithetical at the most basic level to what we say we stand for as a democracy. [33], The minority interests the Founding Fathers intended the Electoral College to protect were those of slaveowners and states with legal slavery. 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. ", ProCon.org. Far from being unusual, this sort Often ignored, Americans had a lesson on the workings of the Electoral College after the 2000 election, in which Al Gore won the popular vote but George W. Bush became president. And in 1888, Benjamin Harrison defeated the incumbent president, Grover Cleveland, in the Electoral College, despite losing the popular vote. [24], For the 2020 election, electors voted on Dec. 14, and delivered the results on Dec. 23. In total, there are 538 electoral votes, divided among the states according to population size. Pros: No winner-take all. You might be seeing people throw up their hands and say, what does one vote in the whole country matter?, Robinson also described a potential outcome of increased polarization. However, this idea of redirecting the focus of campaigns is a double edged sword. Your comment is being posted. The existence of the Electoral College precluded calls for recounts or demands for run-off elections. Al Gore had received more popular vote than. of popular votes (as evidenced by obtaining the absolute majority of electoral votes); in Yet this is less of a problem than it seems since, as a Advantages and Disadvantages of the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact. Explain that each state and the District of Columbia are given a share of the electoral vote based on population. loyalties which have played so great a role in American history, proponents argue that the This proves the system is working. Berns, Walter (ed.) have a majority of over half the State delegations in order to elect their candidate - and contributes to the cohesiveness of the country Indeed, they point out that the Electoral College system is designed to Are you experiencing any technical problem with netivist? also point to the risk of so-called "faithless" Electors. Students share their findings. Should Election Day Be Made a National Holiday? The idea has public support, but faces a partisan divide, since Republicans currently benefit from the electoral clout of less populous, rural states. [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. WebWhat are some pros and cons of the electoral college? However, that support diverges widely based on political parties, with support from 89 percent of Democrats and only 23 percent of Republicans. President Trump had earned 232 electoral votes. Yet it is personal favorite knowing full well that it will not make a difference in the result. The candidates in the ticket whichreceivesthe absolute majority ofelectors votes (currently 270) is elected to the office of President and Vice-president of the United States. small that either candidate could govern effectively. represent each State's choice for the presidency (with the number of each State's could take office is if, as in 1888, one candidate's popular support were heavily Cons: Can disregard the will of the majority. Lexington, Mass: [14] [35] [36], Robert Nemanich, math teacher and former elector from Colorado Springs, stated, Do we really want 538 Bob Nemanichs electing our president? [18], A Nov. 6, 2016 episode of PBS NewsHour revealed that Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton have made more than 90% of their campaign stops in just 11 so-called battleground states. WebElectoral College pros and cons A candidate could be elected without the popular vote. Please consider making a small donation today. helps to maintain a two party system in the United States. New York: Chelsea House Publishers, 1971. will. Dakota, Vermont, and Wyoming carried the same voting strength in the Electoral College (21 in that case, they would hardly be considered a minor party. 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 Electoral College, Americans have their own opinions on how it is running and how it contributes to the presidential election. This will allow us to keep netivist alive and available to
Congress broke the tie, and Jefferson became president and Burr became vice president. In the United States there is a two party system consisting of the Republicans and the Democrats. And since ethnic minority groups in the United States happen to nation by encouraging a two-party system, and. whether his popularity is concentrated in a few States or whether it is more evenly Menu burger Close thin Facebook Twitter Google plus Linked in Reddit Email arrow-right-sm arrow-right Loading Home Buying Calculators The President and Vice President of the United States are not elected directly by a nationwide popular vote, but by an Electoral College. Appointment is like an anointment and not good for society. That is to say, when the electoral vote outcome is so obviously A special commission named by the House chose Hayes over Samuel J. Tilden, after 20 electoral votes in Florida, Louisiana and South Carolina were disputed. A person that can provide and lead a nation to greatness and success. For more on the Electoral College Electors, the possible role of the Electoral College in 2. In Maine and Nebraska they follow an alternative, and more proportionaldistrict method. Some hope to reduce the Electoral Colleges importance without an amendment. support elsewhere would not be reflected. But in reality its going to come down to states own calculations under what system they have the most power. She compared it to the process of passing a bill or amendment in the sense that states will act in whatever way they see as most beneficial, predicting that states holding more power with the Electoral College are the least likely to adopt the NPVIC. individual State populations is more important than the opinion of the national population As of 2020, it has garnered 196 (73% of the requirement) electoral votes and has been adopted by 15 states and the District of Columbia. [7] [8] [9], The Electoral College was also intended to prevent states with larger populations from having undue influence, and to compromise between electing the president by popular vote and letting Congress choose the president. Learn more and come to your own conclusion with this PBS NewsHour lesson. The Presidential election is considered a take all election. rural ones. The result is that by requiring a distribution of popular support to be elected president. 14, 1788, Marc Schulman, "Why the Electoral College," historycentral.com (accessed Nov. 18, 2016), Melissa Kelly, "Why Did the Founding Fathers Create Electors?," 712educators.about.com, Jan. 28, 2016, Hans A. von Spakovsky, "Destroying the Electoral College: The Anti-Federalist National Popular Vote Scheme," heritage.org, Oct. 27, 2011, Richard A. Posner, "In Defense of the Electoral College," slate.com, Nov. 12, 2012, Jarrett Stepman, "Why America Uses Electoral College, Not Popular Vote for Presidential Election," cnsnews.com, Nov. 7, 2016, Gary Gregg, "Electoral College Keeps Elections Fair," politico.com, Dec. 5, 2012, John Nichols, "Obama's 3 Million Vote, Electoral College Landslide, Majority of States Mandate," thenation.com, Nov. 9, 2012, Joe Miller, "The Reason for the Electoral College," factcheck.org, Feb. 11, 2008, William C. Kimberling, "The Manner of Choosing Electors," uselectionatlas.org (accessed Nov. 18, 2016), Sanford V. Levinson, "A Common Interpretation: The 12th Amendment and the Electoral College," blog.constitutioncenter.org, Nov. 17, 2016, Andrew Prokop, "Why the Electoral College Is the Absolute Worst, Explained," vox.com, Nov. 10, 2016, Sam Weber and Laura Fong, "This System Calls for Popular Vote to Determine Winner," pbs.org, Nov. 6, 2016, Leslie Stahl, "President-elect Trump Speaks to a Divided Country on 60 Minutes," cbsnews.com, Nov. 13, 2016, Lisa Lerer, "Clinton Wins Popular Vote by Nearly 2.9 Million, elections.ap.org, Dec. 22, 2016, Doina Chiacu and Susan Cornwell, "US Congress Certifies Trumps Electoral College Victory, reuters.com, Jan. 6, 2017, Congressional Research Service, "The Electoral College: A 2020 Presidential Election Timeline," crsreports.congress.gov, Sep. 3, 2020, Jonathen Easley, "Gallup: 61 Percent Support Abolishing the Electoral College," thehill.com, Sep. 24, 2020, Fair Vote, "Past Attempts at Reform," fairvote.org (accessed Oct. 1, 2020), John Wagner, et al., "Pence Declares Biden Winner of the Presidential Election after Congress Finally Counts Electoral Votes,", Jeremy Stahl, "This Team Thinks They Can Fix the Electoral College by 2024," slate.com, Dec. 14, 2020, Nicholas Casey, "Meet the Electoral Colleges Biggest Critics: Some of the Electors Themselves," nytimes.com, Dec. 12, 2020, Wilfred Codrington III, "The Electoral Colleges Racist Origins," theatlantic.com, Nov. 17, 2019, Peniel E. Joseph, "Shut the Door on Trump by Ending the Electoral College," cnn.com, Dec. 15, 2020, Steve Sisolak, "Governor Sisolak Statement on Assembly Bill 186," gov.nv.gov, May 30, 2019, Andrew Selsky, "Critics of Electoral College Push for Popular Vote Compact," apnews.com, Dec. 12, 2020, Mara Liasson, "A Growing Number of Critics Raise Alarms about the Electoral College,", Faith Karimi, "Why the Electoral College Has Long Been Controversial," cnn.com, Oct. 10, 2020, US Census Bureau, "U.S. and World Population Clock," census.gov (accessed Dec. 8, 2021), US Census Bureau, 2017 National Population Projections Tables: Main Series," census.gov, 2017. groups. Robinson stated, It depends on the outcome [of the election]. In a stark example, sparsely populated Wyoming has three votes and a population of about 580,000, giving its individual voters far more clout in the election than their millions of counterparts in densely populated states like Florida, California and New York. The right of suffrage was much more diffusive in the Northern than the Southern States; and the latter could have no influence in the election on the score of the Negroes. Al Gore had received more popular vote thanGeorge W. Bush (540,000 votes more) but the latter obtained a majority of the electors' votes. The Electoral College is used as a compromise between the election of a President by a vote in Congress and a popular vote by the people. We will help you do it! You have to win the set, and in our system, you have to win the state.. forces political coalitions to occur within the political parties rather than within the The substitution of electors obviated this difficulty and seemed on the whole to be liable to fewest objections. [29], As Wilfred Wilfred Codrington III, Assistant Professor at Brooklyn Law School and a fellow at the Brennan Center, explained, Behind Madisons statement were the stark facts: The populations in the North and South were approximately equal, but roughly one-third of those living in the South were held in bondage. Opponents say kids arent mature enough to vote. This is an example of increased voting power that raises the importance of voters even in less populous states. Proposals for Revision of the Electoral College to force the decision into the U.S. House of Representatives, they would still have to This would accomplish "government by popular What other voting reforms would you make? It is uncertain what the effect on the motivation of the voters will be. Ultimately, any disputes about the procedure could land everything in the Supreme Court. To do so would fundamentally alter the nature of our government The Electoral College is defined as a body of people representing the states of the US, who formally cast votes for the election of the president and vice president. Since 1787 the Electoral College has been the system for voting in the United States, but with our nation ever more changing and growing it, Several years after the United States came to be, the Constitutional Convention met to determine how the new nation should govern itself. Electors are chosen by the states to actually cast the official votes for president. in the other States listed. This is so because the voters of even small minorities in a State may make Fair or not fair? In New Mexico, electors can be charged with a felony if they abandon their pledge, and in Oklahoma a faithless elector could face a misdemeanor charge. 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. Without the Electoral College, Bush would not have the momentum to keep running for president and run the country the way both the state and people want it to be, What Are The Pros And Cons Of The Electoral College, The Electoral College is a body of people representing the states of the US, who formally cast votes for the election of the president and vice president. There are a total of 538 electoral votes in the whole United States of America: 100 for the senators, 435 for the states combined, and 3 for Washington D.C. sufficient popular support to govern as well as a sufficient distribution of that support History You know, you get 100 million votes and somebody else gets 90 million votes and you win. Just as in 2000 when George W. Bush received fewer nationwide popular votes than Al Gore, Donald Trump served as the President of the United States despite being supported by fewer Americans than his opponent. Below are the proper citations for this page according to four style manuals (in alphabetical order): the Modern Language Association Style Manual (MLA), the Chicago Manual of Style (Chicago), the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (APA), and Kate Turabian's A Manual for Writers of Term Papers, Theses, and Dissertations (Turabian). Finally, some opponents of the Electoral In the If it contains abusive or inappropriate language its author will be penalized. Governor Sisolak stated, the compact could diminish the role of smaller states like Nevada in national electoral contests and force Nevadas electors to side with whoever wins the nationwide popular vote, rather than the candidate Nevadans choose. [31], Hans von Spakovsky, Senior Legal Fellow at the Heritage Foundation and a former commissioner for the FEC, explained, The Framers fears of a tyranny of the majority is still very relevant today. 68 (The Mode of Electing the President)," congress.gov, Mar. While this argument has a certain surface In 1787, years after the founding of the United States, the Constitutional Convention met to decide how the new nation would govern itself. With many citizens not understanding whether or not their vote is actually being counted during the election, more debates have risen on if popular vote should be the deciding factor of presidential determinations instead. And the price is population? The Electoral College does have flaws but it may be able to benefit our election system. Today, electors meet in their respective states on the first Monday after the second Wednesday of December Dec. 14 this year to cast separate ballots for president and vice president, with the candidates who receive a majority of votes being elected. president but nevertheless votes of another candidate. The reasoning behind why the Electoral College was the determining factor for president was declared by the founding fathers decades ago to ensure equality (Pavia, 2011). Lexington Books, 1973. Whether electors should be able to change their positions has been heavily debated, so much so that the Supreme Court unanimously ruled in July that states may require electors to abide by their promise to support a specific candidate. Like the Electoral College, the Likewise, the winner of the popular vote is variable. [3] [4] [5] [6], In each state, a group of electors is chosen by each political party. 4. 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. Last modified on December 9, 2021. Hillary Clinton won the popular vote but Trump won the Electoral College. It is hard to imagine what counter-incentive would be created by eliminating the Electoral of Presidential Elections 1789-1968. For example, the state of Wyoming has a population of 580,000 but holds 3 electoral votes. 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. If that happens in the Electoral College, then the decision goes to the newly seated House of Representatives, with each state voting as a unit. New Haven: Yale University Opponents of the Electoral College system direct popular election, there would be every incentive for a multitude of minor parties the Electoral College point out that is was never intended to reflect the national popular Imagine you have been elected to the presidency and have the power to amend this portion of the constitution, which allows for the electoral college. After students have completed their handouts, have them debate the pros and cons of the Electoral College. Win popular vote in the state, you get two electoral votes. Electoral College Pros and Cons Pros: Gives the smaller states an equal voice. WebOver the last few decades, the general trend has been toward reinstating the right to vote at some point, although this is a state-by-state policy choice. ProCon.org. electoral votes required to elect a president. tends to be more sensitive to ethnic minority and other special interest groups than does This type of system would give the individual voter a much more significant influence. Please let us know! The 58th United States presidential election on 8 November 2016 was won by the Republican candidateDonald Trump. Why or why not? It was even a talking point among 2020 Democratic presidential candidates. No attention is paid to the smaller states because of the low electoral number, which doesnt really help the candidate win a lot. exacerbate regional differences. These electors are responsible to make a final decision on who will be president, their vote is the deciding final vote. in the Electoral college. Theres a real partisan reality here, it would be taking away power from red states at this point.. 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. Would you like to create a debate and share it with the netivist community? operation). to form in an attempt to prevent whatever popular majority might be necessary to elect a Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Nevada, New Hampshire, Ohio and Virginia are likely going to be considered swing states, where a minor increase in the popular vote could have an extremely important impact for the chances of a candidate. 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. 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). NOTE: Your account might be penalized should we not find any wrongdoing by this user. "The Electoral College Top 3 Pros and Cons." concentrate in those State with the most electoral votes, they assume an importance to As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. Here are the proper bibliographic citations for this page according to four style manuals (in alphabetical order): [Editor's Note: The APA citation style requires double spacing within entries. This is true simply because it Washington: National Clearinghouse on Election Administration, Federal Election Commission. Best, Judith. Anyone can read what you share. Despite the name, it is not a college in the modern educational sense, but refers to a collegium or group of colleagues. 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. Have each group select one student to present an argument in favor of or against the current system to the class. If you change your mind, you can change your vote simply by clicking on another option. Currently, if a candidate receives a majority of the popular vote in those states, that candidate will receive all of that states electors. Imagine you have been elected to the presidency and have the power to amend this portion of the constitution, which allows for the electoral college. Thirty-three states and the District of Columbia have laws that require electors to vote for their pledged candidate. Following U.S. election results on a TV in a restaurant in Shanghai on Nov. 4. does not determine the winner of the presidency, Joseph R. Biden Jr. had earned 306 electoral votes, Thirty-three states and the District of Columbia, it is not a college in the modern educational sense, Kimberly Wehle, a professor at the University of Baltimore, on Nov. 3 backed membership in the compact. Unfortunately, we see in politics that what you feel about an issue depends on what you think you could get from it. The two-party system can also be seen as a beneficial factor of stability and moderation. that in very close popular elections, it is possible that the candidate who wins a slight
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