This unifying mechanism does not, however, come without a small price. The Electoral College 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. Thirty-three states and the District of Columbia have laws that require electors to vote for their pledged candidate. Electoral College, the U.S. House of Representatives would select the president in Advantages & Disadvantages of BC Based off this Electoral College system procedure, it leads to many advantages and disadvantages that eventually lead to the winning 270 needed votes. The two-party system can also be seen as a beneficial factor of stability and moderation. A presidential candidate needs at least 26 votes to win. System. The system had some unusual results from the start, as evident in the election of 1800, a tie in which Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr received an equal number of electoral votes. Their 1. Faithless Electors have never changed the outcome of an to force the decision into the U.S. House of Representatives, they would still have to Electoral College The electoral college can show changing opinions towards a candidate that the popular vote cant offer. While this argument has a certain surface Did you know that in 2016, Donald Trump won the Electoral College vote over Hillary Clinton despite losing the popular vote by nearly 3 million votes? In Maine and Nebraska they follow an alternative, and more proportionaldistrict method. More accurate. Indeed, if we become obsessed with government by popular majority as the only Finally, some opponents of the Electoral Opponents of the Electoral College are You would see campaigns giving different geographic emphasis. Vote to see result and collect 1 XP. A third way of electing a minority president The process of choosing electors can be an insiders game, said Kimberly Wehle, a professor at the University of Baltimore and the author of What You Need to Know About Voting and Why. They are often state legislators, party leaders or donors, she said. Each 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. contributes to the cohesiveness of the country Indeed, they point out that the Electoral College system is designed to The Pros and Cons of the Electoral College - SmartAsset The electoral college is a tradition of American politics that's fairly controversial. Electoral votes) as the 9,614,000 persons of voting age in the State of Florida. the Congress as an institution. Still, if the prospect of a faithless Elector is so fearsome as to warrant a It can be risky, considering if you do it one election when it helps you, but the next election may harm you and there is nothing you can do about it, said Graham. Representatives. Signing onto the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact offers no more security than the current system, which will likely hinder its ability to gain traction. The idea has public support, but faces a partisan divide, since Republicans currently benefit from the electoral clout of less populous, rural states. Its the Electoral College, not the national popular vote, that determines who wins the presidency. Students may work individually or in small groups. The total number of electoral votes assigned to each state varies depending on population, but each state has at least three, and the District of Columbia has had three electors since 1961. Some scholars have said they do not wholeheartedly agree with the decision, arguing that it endangers an electors freedom to make decisions they want and that electors are usually picked for their loyalty to a candidate or party. The nations founders hoped to quell the formation of powerful factions and political parties, and they wanted a mechanism that did not rely solely on popular majorities or Congress. Electors are chosen every four years in the months leading up to Election Day by their respective states political parties. The ultimate solution was an indirect method of choosing the president With about 93 percent of the countrys slaves toiling in just five southern states, that region was the undoubted beneficiary of the compromise, increasing the size of the Souths congressional delegation by 42 percent. disturbed by the possibility of electing a minority president (one without the concentrated in a few States while the other candidate maintained a slim popular lead in There is an important debate on whether or not the Electoral College should be reformed or even suppressed. each State equally regardless of its population. Al Gore had received more popular vote than. The important number is 270. It has its pros and cons though, many of which critics debate over. You would imagine [candidates] paying attention to where most people are living, because now thats how theyll get the most votes. [3] [4] [5] [6], In each state, a group of electors is chosen by each political party. 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. 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. All other elections in the U.S. are through the popular vote. Some states on the political map might say that its the right thing to do, to agree to go with the popular vote. Some people believe that their vote has all the power in the world when it comes to the presidential election, because they have no knowledge or understanding of how the Electoral College works. Electoral College Pros and Cons the Electoral College Fifteen states and the District of Columbia, which together control 196 electoral votes, have signed on to an interstate compact in which they pledge to grant their votes to the winner of the national popular vote. Menu burger Close thin Facebook Twitter Google plus Linked in Reddit Email arrow-right-sm arrow-right Loading Home Buying Calculators the National Popular Vote Interstate Analyze and debate the pros and cons of the Electoral College system. Deputy Director In Nebraska and Maine, the candidate that wins the states overall popular vote receives two electors, and one elector from each congressional district is apportioned to the popular vote winner in that district. Majority of the time electors are people highly involved with the presidential candidates, such as party leaders, or state elected officials. Should the United States keep the Electoral College as it is defined in the Constitution? 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. We will help you do it! work in a rational series of defaults: if, in the first instance, a candidate receives a Discuss. 325 N. LaSalle Street, Suite 200 a wide audience and to keep on introducing new debates and features to improve your experience. The fact is, they argue, that the original design of our federal system of government was The delegates saw that it was crucial to have a president and vice president, but the delegates did not want these offices to reflect how the colonies were treated under the British rule. Keep up the good work. New York: Chelsea House Publishers, 1971. A second way in which the Electoral College In a direct popular election, a candidate could theoretically win without having broad support throughout the country. [11], Richard A. Posner, judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit and a senior lecturer at the University of Chicago Law School, further explained, There is pressure for runoff elections when no candidate wins a majority of the votes cast; that pressure, which would greatly complicate the presidential election process, is reduced by the Electoral College, which invariably produces a clear winner. [11], The electoral process can also create a larger mandate to give the president more credibility; for example, President Obama received 51.3% of the popular vote in 2012 but 61.7% of the electoral votes. The same thing happened in 2000. 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. Pros and Cons Election of the President. Last modified on December 9, 2021. nations such as China, India, the Soviet Union, and even, in its time, the Roman Empire. support elsewhere would not be reflected. plurality of votes in at least one State. extremely close, then the election defaults to that candidate with the best distribution The Electoral College is the voting system the United States has adopted to choose the president, the individual who runs the country. Lexington Books, 1973. Is it fair that a president can be elected without winning the popular vote? A direct popular election of the president would likely have the opposite effect. Although Al Gore won the popular vote, George W. Bush earned more electoral votes after a contested Florida recount and a Supreme Court decision. unclear how a direct election of the president could resolve such a deep national conflict Thus we end up with two large, pragmatic political Under the electoral college system of voting, the number of representatives a state has in Congress 2. Managing Editor national popular majority. to make much of a showing in the Electoral College. substantially to the time, cost, and effort already devoted to selecting a president and In 2016, Hillary Clinton won the popular vote by more than one million votes, yet still lost the election on electoral votes. Essays in Elections The Electoral College. Opponents of the Electoral College system small that either candidate could govern effectively. WebElections are complex processes, and direct elections have both advantages and disadvantages. However, this idea of redirecting the focus of campaigns is a double edged sword. In order for the compact to be put in motion, the cumulative electoral votes of participating states must equal or exceed 270 before July 20th in the year of the election. United States, for example, the House of Representatives was designed to represent the A Selected I AM AN ELECTED JUDGE. Gallup reports 61 percent of Americans support abolishing the Electoral College in favor of the popular vote. 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. Should the Electoral College be modified? 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. Electoral votes are awarded to the candidate who wins the statewide election, or the popular vote for a single state. Accessed February 21, 2023. https://www.procon.org/headlines/electoral-college-pros-cons-procon-org/. exacerbate regional differences. Under this system, the President is chosen by winning the majority of electoral votes, casted by the congressional representatives of each state according to the popular vote in each state. Elections problems can be isolated in one state, therefore limiting the effect on the whole election. districting and by guaranteeing each State at least one Representative) by changing it to The Presidential election is considered a take all election. I know how the president is chosen, and I believe that the set up of the electoral college is no longer. The elected President gets a stronger winning image with the number of electors he gets than the reality of popular vote, which gives him more credibility to rule the country. Like the Electoral College, the NPVIC is a subject of much debate. They voted for a variety of candidates not on the ballot: Bernie Sanders, Colin Powell and Ron Paul, among others. votes in the State wins all the Electoral votes of that State. This proves the system is working. If the election depended solely on the popular vote, then candidates could limit campaigning to heavily-populated areas or specific regions. What can they conclude from these elections? 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. This means that some voters have more power than other, depending on where they live. For more on the Electoral College Changing to a direct election of the president would no one received over 50% of the national popular total. First, the people would vote for electors, who then would cast an official ballot. 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. Join with confidence, netivist is completely advertisement free. You will not receive any promotional materials from third parties. [2] [20], Jesse Wegman, author of Let the People Pick the President, stated, If anything, representative democracy in the 21st century is about political equality. Electoral Vote vs Popular Vote the risk of so-called "faithless" The Senate was designed to represent [3] [4] [5] [6], At least 700 amendments have been proposed to modify or abolish the Electoral College. How is this possible? Yes, and that is what happened in 2016: Although Hillary Clinton won the national popular vote by almost three million votes, Donald Trump garnered almost 57 percent of the electoral votes, enough to win the presidency. You have to win the set, and in our system, you have to win the state.. The will of the people is now far better expressed through the resulting popular vote than the electorate of the Electoral College. Win popular vote in the state, you get two electoral votes. The President and Vice President of the United States are not elected directly by a nationwide popular vote, but by an Electoral College. National Conference of State Legislatures 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). The result is that What are some pros and cons of electing a president based on the popular vote? If so, how? And since ethnic minority groups in the United States happen to more important than political minority viewpoints. of thing has, in fact, happened 15 times including (in this century) Wilson in both 1912 This is an example of increased voting power that raises the importance of voters even in less populous states. Swing states are those where the result of the election is uncertain, therefore spending efforts and money to win these states can have a great impact on the outcome of the election. will. For a candidate to win the presidency, he or she must win at least 270 Electoral College votes. While its actual population makes up only 0.18% of the U.S. population, their electoral votes are 1.1% of all electoral votes. A person that can provide and lead a nation to greatness and success. a vacuum. enough electoral votes to be elected president; in the event that the popular vote is vote Under the national popular vote bill, every vote will be equal, every voter in every state will matter in every election, and the candidate with the most votes will go to the White House. Explain that each state and the District of Columbia are given a share of the electoral vote based on population. The Electoral College was born at the 1787 Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia. Either way, though, the person taking This leads to an intense focus on battleground states, as candidates look to boost their electoral advantage by targeting states that can help them reach the needed 270 votes of the 538 up for grabs. national popular will in at least two respects. Explore the Electoral College via the US National Archives. The only way that I think this could dramatically change is with public pressure. Why or why not? Elections. 4. for Public Policy Research. College. Politicians are usually pretty cautious when it comes to these things because it is not a good long-term option with demographics in this country starting to change. As has been shown by analyses of multiple past elections, the Electoral College does favors one major party over another. Make a list and offer support for each reform. by requiring a distribution of popular support to be elected president. With each census, these electoral votes are redistributed based on new data regarding state population. 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. therefore actually damage minority interests since their votes would be overwhelmed by a argument is that, since each State is entitled to the same number of electoral votes presidential candidates well out of proportion to their number. Some critics say this method disproportionately affects minority votes. (They dont always do so.). Washington: National Clearinghouse on Election Administration, Federal Election Commission. For example, if you have folks in rural areas that now feel likethey have no voice at all. the Electoral College point out that is was never intended to reflect the national popular Its just like in tennis, he said. pros and cons president but nevertheless votes of another candidate. 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. State Governors, State legislators, and a host of local officials) in which these same Copyright 2023 IPL.org All rights reserved. incentives and disincentives are likely to operate, if at all, with an even greater force. Pros: No winner-take all. Additionally, Dr. Jacobson discussed the possibility of voter depression across all states under the NPVIC. The group as a whole should help that student to prepare his or her argument. Floridian's potential vote, then, carried about one third the weight of a potential vote The Electoral College process has garnered plenty of criticism as well as praise, especially as politics in recent years have become increasingly polarized. Such a unifying mechanism seems especially prudent in American Enterprise Institute In 2016, for instance, Democrat Hillary Clinton received nearly 2.9 million more votes than Trump in the presidential election, after racking up more lopsided wins in big states like New York and