Weve already seen this issue take place with the GOP primaries in 2016. "The National Popular Vote bill would guarantee the Presidency to the candidate who receives the most popular votes in the entire U.S. National Popular Vote compact pros and cons. 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. Less would get done, which would affect the needs of households at the local level. List of the Cons of Using the Popular Vote 1. 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). While we look further into the National Popular Vote, lets investigate some of its pro and cons for the American democracy. The National Popular Vote Interstate Compact is an agreement where states in the compact award all their electoral votes to the winner of the . As a result, the bill will take effect when enacted by states possessing an additional 74 electoral votes. Every state is allocated several votes according to the number of senators and representatives in its U.S. Congressional delegation. If this happens many people in the red states will not feel that the change is legitimate even if its legal and technically constitutional. Because of the Winner-Take-All state laws candidates for president only campaign and spend their money in 12-13 swing states because voters in those few swing states determine who wins the election and presidential candidates totally ignore voters in the rest of the country(except to raise money). Unexpected emergencies would be difficult to handle. 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. All other votes cast for that candidate are therefore superfluous. 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. The Electoral College is made up of 538 electors and a majority of 270 electoral votes is mandatory to nominate the President. Two-thirds of the campaign events were in four states, Florida, Iowa, Virginia, and Ohio, that year. what connection type is known as "always on"? Only Nebraska and Maine do not. E pluribus unum -- out of many, one. 8. The one-vote approach does not align with the way the electoral votes operates. cons of the national popular vote plansuper lemon haze greenhouse. The official 2016 election results from the Electoral College gave Donald J. Trump the victory with 306 electoral votes v. Hillary Clinton's 232 votes. 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. Under the Electoral College system, voters in states that are overwhelmingly in support of one candidate might feel like their vote is unimportant. 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. 2. Since the Constitution and the Bill of Rights became governing documents in the United States, there have only been 17 amendments made to it. The discussion around using the popular vote for elections has increased since the results of the 2016 election. 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. 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. on WordPress.com. And that would lead to chaos in how political parties campaign for president and could also undermine the legitimacy of the process. But sometime in the future the popular vote will change back and lean Republican. The National Popular Vote initiative transpired in 2006. For the 7 presidential elections between 1992-2016, the Republican candidate has won the Electoral college 3 times. NCSL's experts are here to answer your questions and give you unbiased, comprehensive information as soon as you need it on issues facing state legislatures. Electoral college reform proposals include (1) the district plan, awarding each state's two at-large electoral votes to the statewide popular vote winners, and one electoral vote to the winning candidates in each congressional district; (2) the proportional plan, awarding electoral votes in states in direct proportion to the popular vote gained It has its pros and cons though, many of which critics debate over. 5. In addition, the bill has been unanimously approved at the committee level in the states of Georgia and Missouri, controlling a combined 27 electoral votes. National Popular Vote will create a single member district (all 50 states and D.C.), where the candidate with the most votes wins and . This divide creates natural divisions between groups of people who both support their country, but in different ways. Con:not Eliminate possibility that loser of the popular vote can still win the electoral vote The Proportional Plan A proposed reform where each presidential candidate would receive the percent of electoral votes that they win from each state Proportional Plan Pro:Possible for loser of popular vote to win presidency. It sees a healthy and vibrant democracy needing the underpinnings of civil society that rests on the sustained and active engagement of the citizenry and promotes approaches that seek to maximize that involvement. 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. The United States has a representative democracy rather than a direct democracy: Citizens elect representatives rather than voting on each bill. National Popular Vote is a constitutional and practical way to implement nationwide popular election of the President a goal traditionally supported by an overwhelming majority of Americans. Maryland and New Jersey passed this bill in 2007, Hawaii and Illinois in 2008, Washington in 2009, Massachusetts and the District of Columbia in 2010, California and Vermont in 2011, Rhode Island in 2013, New York in 2014 and Connecticut in 2018. This has occurred in only four of the 58 presidential . cons of the national popular vote plan. Proportional Plan Because every vote is equal inside Ohio or Florida, presidential candidates avidly seek out voters in small, medium, and large towns. 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. We have seen this outcome in the 2016 Presidential election between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump and in the 2000 election between George H.W. But if some non-member Make a contribution to support Common Cause today. A popular vote election would bring the presidential election in line with the rest of the election structures. That would increase the amount of polarization being experienced in politics today because there would be less of a need to compromise. Change), You are commenting using your Facebook account. That view of democracy recognizes the existence and desirability of organized interests and enshrines that principle under the concept of pluralism. The popular vote currently gives every citizenCalifornians and Texans, Hawaiians and Mainers, Alabamans and Oregoniansan equal say in choosing the president. One of the biggest reasons why voters dont vote is because they feel like their vote doesnt count. The National Popular Vote Plan. But the national popular vote plan doesn't require a . It would eliminate superfluous votes. 1. 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. 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. every decade states are redistricted could be redrawn to capture house seats and corrupt the Presidential election A popular vote election takes all ballots that are cast, counts them, and declares the winner based on who received the most votes. 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. Not only it already happened five times, but in theory, a candidate could win the presidency with only 22% of the popular vote in a two-candidates race. 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. It has been enacted into law in 11 states with 165 electoral votes, and will take effect when enacted by states with 105 more. It fails to reach the ideal of one-person one-vote. That principle should be expanded to presidential elections. Proponents of the National Popular Vote fail to understand the most basic facts about the American presidential electoral system. If a party knows either that it can't win a single elector in a state or has an easy road to winning all of them, it sends its resources to where it has a competitive chance.. The danger of NPV is that it will undermine the complex and vital underpinnings of American democracy. Instead of a direct popular election, the United States has the Electoral College, a group of electors who represent each state's votes. 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. 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. 3. Under the current structure of presidential elections in the U.S., the states become a battleground of red states vs. blue states. Today the Democrats want to replace the Electoral College/Winner-Take-All system with a direct popular vote and the Republicans adamantly want to keep it. It would reduce diversity in the election structures. Our state will likely vote overwhelmingly for the Republican challenger to Barack Obama in November. Because of the state Winner-Take-All rules, which arent even part of the Constitution, they can lead to presidential elections where the winner of the election doesnt have the most popular votes. For the popular vote, however, Hillary Clinton received 65.8 million votes, while Donald Trump received 62.9 million votes. 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. Over the years, the National Popular Vote bill has been introduced in the legislatures of all 50 states. A candidate may not have to concentrate anymore, but they may have to move their attention to states such as Texas, New York, California, and Alaska. Feb 25, 2023. 12th Amendment: Fixing the Electoral College, What Is Majoritarianism? 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 . Cookie Notice The Pros and Cons of the Electoral College - SmartAsset The electoral college is a tradition of American politics that's fairly controversial. Image the country thinks it is going to elect the president by National Popular Vote and then changing back to using the old Electoral College/Winner-Take-All system just four months before an election. Ken Bickers. F. Kennedy, Richard Nixon, Bill Clinton and George W. Bush were elected with less than a majority of the votes cast. 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. The first problem it creates is the opportunity for the loser of the popular vote to win the electoral vote. 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. Without any sort of broad support, the politics of the country could become even more fractured than they already are. The winner would receive one vote per congressional district won with the winner of the state popular vote gaining a two electoral votes. However, in the popular vote, Trump only received 62,984,825 votes against Hillary Clinton's 65,853,516 popular votes. It gives each vote an equal amount of power. Thats how politics works in America. PBS: What does voter turnout tell us about the 2016 election. Although the 20th Amendment to the Constitution provides clarity to this situation, that process is based on the electoral college. They have only won the popular vote once. Although many supporters of the electoral college argue that a two-party political system is more stable, some critics counter that having more than two parties would give Americans more choice. Currently, 48 of the 50 states follow the winner-take-all rule. In 2016, Hillary Clinton had more than 10 million of these votes, while Donald Trump had more than 8.3 million, even though Trump won 30 states and Clinton won 20 and the District of Columbia. 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. Rebekah Richards is a professional writer with work published in the "Atlanta Journal-Constitution," "Brandeis University Law Journal" and online at tolerance.org. 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). The principal flaw in the plan is its assumption that under the plan there will still be only two major parties competing for the presidency in 2020. . 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. Longley, Robert. But the biggest problem with changing how we elect our president using the NPV Compact is that its too easy to change it back. Yes. The votes of those who do not live in closely divided battleground states effectively count less. And that would undermine the legitimacy of the NPV among those people. Under the Electoral College/Winner-Take-All system votes in small states, like Wyoming or Delaware count double what votes in large states like California or Texas. The National Bonus Plan was proposed by historian Arthur Schlesinger, Jr. Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in: You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. Home| Government| Elections| Electoral College| Electoral College Pros And Cons. Others may struggle to meet higher than expected voter turnout levels. Electing a president who did not have broad regional support could lead to a fractured and less cohesive country, according to the Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections. That's almost 1.5 billion . It would reduce the threshold necessary to win the office. Opines that the national popular vote plan is the wrong way to abolith the electoral college. This has occurred in 5 of the nation's 56 presidential elections, most recently in 2016. amazon web services address herndon va custom airbrush spray tan near me custom airbrush spray tan near me How Many Electoral Votes Does a Candidate Need to Win? NPV is more than a third of the way to its goal. Even if states impose fines on faithless electors for their actions, it is not a guarantee that the behavior will stop. Each states electoral votes are tallied by Congress in the House chamber by House and Senate representatives on the 6th day of January following the Presidential election. In theory that could happen every four years. Watch out! 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 bill was secured within the American government, it would protect every vote and would allow those votes to equally matter in the presidential election. 2. All states could adopt the system that now exists in Maine and Nebraska, where all but two electors are chosen by congressional district, and the other two go to the statewide winner. The Electoral College distorts presidential campaigns . National Popular Vote proponents argue that the United States has had four presidential elections in which the plurality winner of the popular vote was not chosen as president. What would happen during a switch to the popular vote would be unknown. "The National Popular Vote Plan." Or states might explore what was recently proposed in Colorado -- that electors be allocated in proportion to each candidate's share of the popular vote above a certain threshold. How about receiving a customized one? National Popular Vote - Pros and Cons "The National Popular Vote bill would guarantee the Presidency to the candidate who receives the most popular votes in the entire U.S. 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. For example, if a state used NPV and voted for candidate A, but candidate B received the most votes nationwide, the state would allocate its presidential electors to candidate B. Their answer is simple: one in which every citizen's vote is equal to every other citizen's vote and one in which the winner of the presidential popular vote, no matter how small his or her percentage is of those who voted, would be elected. The last amendment, the 27th Amendment to the Constitution, was ratified nearly 200 years after it was originally proposed. In theory we could change how we elect our president every four years. Change). Because its so hard to get an amendment to the Constitution passed that means that once it becomes law it will probably remain so for a long time because the bar to change it back is so high. 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. Here are six reasons why legislators should reject this attempt to jettison our electoral system: 1. The electoral college leads to a heavy emphasis on swing states and also typically over-represents citizens in rural states. 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. On average, studies show that falls in line with historical averages showing around 60 percent of eligible voters casting a vote in presidential election years. Surprisingly enough, the National Popular Vote bill could possibly bring forth some problems. Candidates get one vote for every congressional district they win, and then two votes for winning the state-wide vote. Electoral votes are designated among the states based on Census. Either would provide a reason for both parties to compete in most states because there would be electors to win. This blog post is a joint effort with Leslie Francis, former executive director of the Democratic National Committee and Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. 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. 15 states and Washington, D.C. have joined the National Popular Vote compact. 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. At that stage, anyone who received an electoral vote is eligible to become the next president. Probably the NPV Compact would be enacted into law with as little as a simple majority of the states and possibly even less. List of the Cons of Proportional Representation. Pros & Cons of a National Popular Vote Buy Complete Issue $19.95 Login or Subscribe The National Popular Vote How would the interstate compact work? 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. That means the cost of counting all the votes would be duplicated. The danger of NPV is that it will undermine the complex and vital underpinnings of American democracy. The National Popular Vote Bill is not a Democrat or Republican bill. 3. When you cast your ballot, you're not actually voting directly for your favored presidential candidate. Resource allocation would be focused on paid advertising, which would negate the need for grassroots activities. That structure makes it easier for extremist views to find official representation. 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 National Popular Vote (NPV) refers to the concept of allocating a state's presidential electors to the candidate who receives the most votes nationwide regardless of the state results in a presidential election. sale of united methodist church property. Where the National Popular Vote Plan Stands. In the 2016 election, only 58 percent of eligible voters went to the polls. (LogOut/ It knows that a majoritarianism that produces a plurality is not the voice of a majority of the citizenry. 622 By John Samples The National Popular Vote plan (NPV), introduced in more than 40 states, and adopted. 41 States (with 80% of U.S. population) will be Ignored in the 2024 Presidential Election. A popular vote system would significantly impact voters and turnout. The alternative view of democracy is more complex; it is one that includes but is not limited to the pursuit of equality. The Congressional District method would allocate electoral votes based on the winner of each congressional district. Because there was a difference of less than 1,000 tabulated votes between George W. Bush and Al Gore in one state, Florida, the nation watched as 6 million votes were recounted by machine, several hundred thousand were recounted by hand in counties with differing recount standards, partisan litigators fought each other in state and federal courts, the secretary of state backed by the majority of state legislators (all Republicans) warred with the state's majority Democratic judiciary -- until 37 days after the election the U.S. Supreme Court, in a bitterly controversial 5-4 decision effectively declared Bush the winner. This type of system would give the individual voter a much more significant influence. 805 15th Street, NW, Suite 800 6. The framers enacted the provisions relating to the Electoral College to allow for state innovation. 9. (LogOut/ By rejecting non-essential cookies, Reddit may still use certain cookies to ensure the proper functionality of our platform. 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. In Maine, both houses of the legislature passed the bill in 2019, but it failed at the final enactment step. In a closely contested direct popular election, every precinct across the country might require close examination, rather than a handful of states or precincts. A candidate could be elected without the popular vote. The United States does not have direct election of its president, yet most national, state and local offices are filled by the candidate with the most votes. 8. Although faithless electors have not affected the results or outcome of an election yet, in 2016, there were 7 faithless electors. Robert Longley is a U.S. government and history expert with over 30 years of experience in municipal government and urban planning. Colorado is on the verge of joining a nationwide movement that could eventually change how we choose the next president of the United States. Just 12 Closely Divided Battleground States Got 96% of 2020 Campaign Events. 4. 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. The National Popular Vote effort, explained The National Popular Vote effort is now halfway to its goal of electing future presidents via the popular vote, after Rhode Island Gov. More attention is given to the swing states, such as Florida and Iowa, which causes the third problem the Electoral College can cause. a plan for a national popular vote could undermine the . 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. Definition and Examples, How Political Party Convention Delegates are Chosen, What Is a Caucus? The Electoral College is very undemocratic and riddled with issues. 3. Explains kimberling, william c., and dave leip's . On Dec. 22, 2016, the results were certified in all 50 states. There would be a reduced need to build coalitions. 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. Under the electoral college system (and other voting systems not based on popular voting), it only takes one extra vote more than the other candidate to create the needed results for the election. In 2016, Gary Johnson received 4.48 million votes and 0 electoral votes, but the potential is always there for this to happen. All in all, the Electoral College causes many problems that seem unfair to American voters during such an important election. And thats not how it should be in a democracy. 1. 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 NPVC is a proposed interstate compact in which the signatory states agree that they will appoint their presidential electors in accordance with the national popular vote rather than their own state electorate's vote. This feature is critical to the passionate bipartisan support the compact receives. (LogOut/ It could help to reduce partisanship. The first advantage allows for electoral votes to be fairer than the Electoral College (Richards). As with other powers entrusted to the states, it is an application, not a circumvention, of the Constitution when the states utilize those powers as they see fit. In countries where the concept of popular votes is in place, every vote has an equal weight regarding the election outcome. It could encourage voter turnout. That means every state is allowed a minimum of 3 electoral votes.
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