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(Voters in one of those states, Colorado, on Nov. 3 backed membership in the compact after opponents of the measure collected enough signatures to put the law on the ballot as a referendum.) And in 1888, Benjamin Harrison defeated the incumbent president, Grover Cleveland, in the Electoral College, despite losing the popular vote. Most are, and it helps to think of voting on a state-by-state basis, Professor Amar said. It only takes five people with life tenure to actually amend this Constitution through a judicial opinion, she said. exacerbate regional differences. 29, 1961). The Electoral College does have flaws but it may be able to benefit our election system. If it contains abusive or inappropriate language its author will be penalized. movements, the practical effect of the Electoral College (along with the single-member Listen to a Constitution Center podcast exploring the pros and cons of the Electoral College. They voted for a variety of candidates not on the ballot: Bernie Sanders, Colin Powell and Ron Paul, among others. Highly Recommended. president but nevertheless votes of another candidate. As of 2020, the state with the largest number of votes is California, with 55 electoral votes. Thirty-three states and the District of Columbia have laws that require electors to vote for their pledged candidate. On Jan. 6, 2017, a joint session of the US Congress met to certify the election results and Vice President Joe Biden, presiding as President of the Senate, read the certified vote tally. The number of electors is based on the total of House of Representative members (435), Senate members (100) and 3 additional voters to represent the District of Columbia. 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. 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. There are many flaws for this system. in the Electoral college. To win the election, presidential candidates need electoral votes from multiple regions and therefore they build campaign platforms with a national focus, meaning that the winner will actually be serving the needs of the entire country. This means that some voters have more power than other, depending on where they live. The same goes for Republican strongholds and a Democratic candidate. would lead to the nationalization of our central government - to the detriment of the Electoral College, the U.S. House of Representatives would select the president in in 1988, for example, the combined voting age population (3,119,000) of the seven least individual State populations is more important than the opinion of the national population personal favorite knowing full well that it will not make a difference in the result. The Electoral College has also awarded the presidency to candidates with a plurality of the popular vote (under 50 percent) in a number of cases, notably Abraham Lincoln in 1860, John F. Kennedy in 1960 and Bill Clinton in 1992 and 1996. A third way of electing a minority president States according to the size of their population. Yet it is [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. Although its not detailed in the Constitution, each state delegation would vote on which candidate to support as a group, with the plurality carrying the day, said Akhil Reed Amar, a professor of law and political science at Yale University. 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. The local laws would take effect only once the compact has enough states to total 270 electoral votes. More accurate. Electors are chosen by the states to actually cast the official votes for president. its failure to accurately reflect the national Most states use the winner-take-all method, in which all electoral votes are awarded to the winner of the popular vote in that state. Berns, Walter (ed.) Or why not? incentives and disincentives are likely to operate, if at all, with an even greater force. Excerpt from an original publication: Kimberling, William C. (1992). While Gore won the popular vote by about half a million in 2000, Hillary Clinton won it by nearly three million in 2016. 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. The Electoral College elects the President and Vice President of the United States every four years. You will not receive any promotional materials from third parties. 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. One way or another, then, the winning candidate must demonstrate both a You would imagine [candidates] paying attention to where most people are living, because now thats how theyll get the most votes. All Rights Reserved, How 2016 put pressure on the Electoral College. views represented by these parties in hopes of winning the run-off election. This occurred, as noted above, in 1824 and was unsuccessfully Please let us know! [25], On Monday Dec. 19, 2016, the electors in each state met to vote for President and Vice President of the United States. Explain to your students that while in November Americans will cast their ballots for president, there is actually a system called the Electoral College that determines who will win the election. 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. In total, there are 538 electoral votes, divided among the states according to population size. Learn more with this video: After the 2000 election, a majority of Americans favored abolishing the system, and by 2020, that. With this rule, that means the candidate who also got some votes from that state, ends up getting none. 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. Consider how you felt about the issue before reading this article. BUT FOR THE ELECTION I MAY NEVER BE APPOINTED. Pros: No winner-take all. 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. 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. And even if he managed to win a few States, his FEC National Clearinghouse on Election Administration. Unfortunately, we see in politics that what you feel about an issue depends on what you think you could get from it. This unifying mechanism does not, however, come without a small price. I know how the president is chosen, and I believe that the set up of the electoral college is no longer. Your vote is anonymous. by requiring a distribution of popular support to be elected president. voting systems. 3. If you would not change the voting process, make a list of reforms and why you would not choose to enact them. Sayre, Wallace Stanley, Voting for President. In 2016, Hillary Clinton won the popular vote by more than one million votes, yet still lost the election on electoral votes. Best, Judith. One way in which a minority president could substantial majority of the popular vote, then that candidate is virtually certain to win The Electoral College can also reduce the impact of the votes within safety states. Still, if the prospect of a faithless Elector is so fearsome as to warrant a This issue was mentioned above and is discussed at greater length On Jan. 6, 2021, Congress held a joint session to certify the electoral college votes during which several Republican lawmakers objected to the results and pro-Trump protesters stormed the US Capitol sending Vice President Pence, lawmakers and staff to secure locations. Why, then, apply a sentimental attachment to popular support elsewhere would not be reflected. Create your account for free. I worry and wonder what, as we see a growth in right wing military activity and citizen vigilantes, the perception of taking away power, [would do]. While the system may seem fair, the Electoral College is at its core an outdated process that heavily favors small swing states, causing the election to not always align with popular vote of the American people. [7] [8] [9], According to Alexander Hamilton, the Electoral College is if not perfect, it is at least excellent, because it ensured that the office of President will never fall to the lot of any man who is not in an eminent degree endowed with the requisite qualifications. [7], Democratic Nevada Governor Steve Sisolak vetoed a measure in 2019 that would add the state to the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact, which would have obligated the states electors to vote for the popular vote winner. The Electoral College is the voting system the United States has adopted to choose the president, the individual who runs the country. thoroughly and wisely debated by the Founding Fathers. distributed across the States. Table. 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. Indeed, they point out that the Electoral College system is designed to substantially to the time, cost, and effort already devoted to selecting a president and First, have students meet in small groups to discuss and debate. The Electoral College process has garnered plenty of criticism as well as praise, especially as politics in recent years have become increasingly polarized. After reading the pros and cons on this topic, has your thinking changed? Deputy Director Once more, the United States President and Vice President were elected by an indirect vote system, known as Ellectoral College. demolish our federal system of government. Indeed, it is principally because of the Electoral College that presidential 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 Prevents disputed outcomes ensuring a peaceful transition of power Reduces the costs of national presidential campaigns. The New York Times defines The Electoral College as a group of people that elects the president and the vice president of the United States (Bromwich 2016). Popular vote is an actual count of individual votes from all states in America while the Electoral College is a measure of the House of Representatives and Senators choosing directly who the president should be (Kimberling, 1992). Cons: Gerrymandering Proportional Plan to govern. Recently, critics have expressed that this system is not as equal as predetermined. Electoral votes) as the 9,614,000 persons of voting age in the State of Florida. If the president was determined on popular vote, people would actually think more about their vote more because they know that their votes count, The candidates running for president try to aim for the big states and the swing states, causing the swing states to have more power. 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 States are even responsible for winner-take-all mechanism whereby the presidential candidate who wins the most popular Keep up the good work. enhances the status of minority interests, contributes to the political stability of the Currently, Republicans control 26 state delegations, while Democrats control 22. Electoral College pros and cons: should the USA use popular vote to elect the President? 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. On Dec. 22, 2016, the results were certified in all 50 states. 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 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. Vote to see result and collect 1 XP. government. Certain penalties exist in other states. forth. Representatives. Floridian's potential vote, then, carried about one third the weight of a potential vote the Electoral College point out that is was never intended to reflect the national popular The Supreme Court is considering a challenge to laws that protect websites from lawsuits, Lesson includes resources to help you talk with your students about traumatic events, Read Martin Luther King Jr.'s famous speech and explore themes such as the social conditions in the U.S. that led to the Civil Rights Movement. Rank choice voting? Is it fair that a president can be elected without winning the popular vote? Congress broke the tie, and Jefferson became president and Burr became vice president. therefore actually damage minority interests since their votes would be overwhelmed by a And the price is rural ones. Its just like in tennis, he said. In addition to protecting the presidency from impassioned but transitory third party electoral votes. accordance with the 12th Amendment.