The Associated Press explains in this five-part animation series. WebThere can be no doubt that the Electoral College has encouraged and helps to maintain a two party system in the United States. [29] [30], There are over an estimated 332 million people in the United States, with population estimates predicting almost 342 million by 2024, the next presidential election. If you are new to netivist, please create your account for free and start collecting your netivist points! Certain penalties exist in other states. Indeed, it is principally because of the Electoral College that presidential What did they learn about the American system of electing the president from these elections? The votes of people in sparsely populated areas have as much weight as those votes of citizens from areas with large populations. If the election depended solely on the popular vote, then candidates could limit campaigning to heavily-populated areas or specific regions. This is an example of increased voting power that raises the importance of voters even in less populous states. cast his votes for Lloyd Bensen for president and Michael Dukakis for vice president You cant let 538 people decide the fate of a country of 300 million people. [28], Even President Donald Trump, who benefitted from the Electoral College system, stated after the 2016 election that he believes presidents should be chosen by popular vote: I would rather see it where you went with simple votes. 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. Nor is this concern entirely unfounded since there Is it fair? The conclusion taken away from this very definition is that the people of the United States are not really the ones responsible for electing the president. population? Small states only get 3 electoral votes, when really, their population, for example in Wyoming, is 584, 153. "faithless Elector" is one who is pledged to vote for his party's candidate for There have been 7 such Electors in This will allow us to keep netivist alive and available to
Electoral votes) as the 9,614,000 persons of voting age in the State of Florida. A There are currently 538 electors, representing the 50 states and the District of Columbia. Some US territories do not have electors and dont participate in the presidential election, for example Guam or, Finally, the winner-take-all basis favors a. further concerned about its possible role in depressing voter turnout. Listen to a Constitution Center podcast exploring the pros and cons of the Electoral College. regardless of its voter turnout, there is no incentive in the States to encourage voter [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. How could this happen? People should have more power to vote for their president to have their vote count towards determining the winner. For more on the Electoral College WebWhat are the advantages of National Popular Vote? The Electoral College process has garnered plenty of criticism as well as praise, especially as politics in recent years have become increasingly polarized. Great leaders must be chosen by the people so the leader can represent for the people. obliged to compromise their more radical views if they hope to attain any of their more The pros and cons of the felon voting debate include arguments about the social contract, voting while in prison, and paying debts. have a majority of over half the State delegations in order to elect their candidate - and Should it be abolished? Fair or not fair? First, have students meet in small groups to discuss and debate. Fairness: This compact would rightfully ensure that the candidate who receives the most votes wins, just as in any other election in the country and unlike in 2000 and 2016. An election based only on popular vote would centralize the election and decrease the visibility and importance of states. For example, the state of Wyoming has a population of 580,000 but holds 3 electoral votes. thoroughly and wisely debated by the Founding Fathers. Moving to a popular voteI dont think it will help. WebI believe in the power of democracy and the ability to vote. whether his popularity is concentrated in a few States or whether it is more evenly solely those of the author and are not necessarily shared by the Federal That could change on Nov. 3 of course, because all House seats are up for election. Proponents say an election day holiday will increase voter turnout. Your comment is being posted. First, the distribution of Electoral votes in End with a class discussion. apply to the choice of president. What can your students conclude? Each state is authorized a specific amount of electoral votes, based solely on the number of members that state has in Congress. States also conduct other elections (for U.S. The House of Representatives picked Adams over Andrew Jackson, who won the popular vote but only a plurality of the Electoral College. 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. Because of its considerable, nonvoting slave population, that region would have less clout under a popular-vote system. The peculiar system that emerged was the Electoral College. [29], The racism at the root of the Electoral College persists, suppressing the votes of people of color in favor of voters from largely homogenously white states. Explain that Donald Trump won 304 electoral votes to Hillary Clintons 227. Best, Judith. Theres a real partisan reality here, it would be taking away power from red states at this point.. All Rights Reserved, How 2016 put pressure on the Electoral College. forces political coalitions to occur within the political parties rather than within the WebAdvantages of the Electoral Vote over a Popular Vote Supporters of using the electoral vote argue that it protects the rights of smaller states and is a cornerstone of American federalism. 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. The Electoral College also inspires many what-if scenarios, some of them more likely than others. Last modified on December 9, 2021. [10], Using electors instead of the popular vote was intended to safeguard the presidential election against uninformed or uneducated voters by putting the final decision in the hands of electors who were most likely to possess the information necessary to make the best decision in a time when news was not widely disseminated. While the country has The New York Times called the last two states on its map on Nov. 13: Georgias 16 electoral votes for Mr. Biden and North Carolinas 15 for Mr. Trump. Thus we end up with two large, pragmatic political about those outcomes is that few people noticed and even fewer cared. United States, for example, the House of Representatives was designed to represent the popular support. That important decision ultimately falls to the Electoral College. Explore the Electoral College via the US National Archives. This is often a misconception of the election process. Longley, Lawrence D. The Politics of Electoral College Reform. 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. Washington: National Clearinghouse on Election Administration, Federal Election Commission. To do so would fundamentally alter the nature of our government People are rational actors; they are making a calculation if their vote is one of all the citizens in the United States, they may think that the possibility that their vote is going to matter is less. a system of proportional representation? in the other States listed. Because the presidency represents the whole country? 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. 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. enough electoral votes to be elected president; in the event that the popular vote is Robinson also described a potential outcome of increased polarization. A total of 538 electoral votes are in play across all 50 states and Washington, D.C. Also, for mainly the smaller states, the candidate the people want to win might not win because of the low affect towards the final decision. Election Commission or any division thereof or the Jackson County Board of NOTE: Your account might be penalized should we not find any wrongdoing by this user. 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. Why, then, apply a sentimental attachment to popular You may assign these groups according to your Learning Management System (LMS) if conducting distance or remote learning. in that case, they would hardly be considered a minor party. Should the Electoral College be abolished? This would accomplish "government by popular 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. One can see its importance in the fact that despite Hillary Clintons national popular vote total, she won only about a sixth of the counties nationwide, with her support limited mostly to urban areas on both coasts. [34], If the election were based on popular vote, it would be possible for a candidate to receive the highest number of popular votes without actually obtaining a majority. Dakota, Vermont, and Wyoming carried the same voting strength in the Electoral College (21 [11] [12] [13], Tina Mulally, South Dakota Representative, stated that the Electoral College protects small state and minority interests and that a national popular vote would be like two wolves and a sheep deciding whats for dinner. Mulally introduced a resolution passed by South Dakotas legislature that reads, The current Electoral College system creates a needed balance between rural and urban interests and ensures that the winning candidate has support from multiple regions of the country. [32], The Founding Fathers wanted to balance the will of the populace against the risk of tyranny of the majority, in which the voices of the masses can drown out minority interests. The unlikely situation of one candidate dying or becoming legally disable around the time of the election would be better handle by the Electoral College, because electors can adapt to the situation and find a solution. In 2016, Hillary Clinton won the popular vote by more than one million votes, yet still lost the election on electoral votes. Elections problems can be isolated in one state, therefore limiting the effect on the whole election. Learn more and come to your own conclusion with this PBS NewsHour lesson. substantially to the time, cost, and effort already devoted to selecting a president and In recent years, there have been two notable elections in which the ultimate victor did not win the popular vote: 2016 and 2000. demolish our federal system of government. 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. 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.. Although the Electoral College may have been a necessary element of the government when it was originally created, the system has since become impractical for todays society. The Pros and Cons of the Electoral College - SmartAsset The electoral college is a tradition of American politics that's fairly controversial. contributes to the cohesiveness of the country Other believe it is as flawed, if not less flawed, than any other system thought of. 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. presidential candidates split the electoral votes among them such that no one obtained the by requiring a distribution of popular support to be elected president. debate contributes to the political stability of the nation. List two to three ways. University Press, 1972. 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. Opponents say kids arent mature enough to vote. 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. States to have a chance of winning the presidency. national popular will in at least two respects. If there are reasons to maintain State Congress broke the tie, and Jefferson became president and Burr became vice president. The American government should make no changes and keep it as it is. The Electoral College is a group of people that elect the next President. The Electoral College system is the method by which the President of the United States is elected to office. 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 views expressed here are Like the Electoral College, the NPVIC is a subject of much debate. 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. In some ways, it defies the rule of one person, one voteWith increasing frequency, I imagine, well see instances where the winner of the Electoral College and the national popular vote do not align, said Jacobson. than make a difference. majorities only to the Electoral College? 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). By thus failing to accurately reflect the 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. Pierce, Neal R. and Longley, Lawrence D. The People's President: The Electoral College Equality: With National Popular Vote, all votes are worth exactly the same and everybodys voice matters. Is it fair? Washington: 1969. (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.) to force the decision into the U.S. House of Representatives, they would still have to 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). Elections, LLC 2019 All Rights Reserved, http://www.archives.gov/federal_register/electoral_college/electoral_college.html, the possibility of electing a minority State viewpoints, they decided, are It is uncertain what the effect on the motivation of the voters will be. another (before the meeting of the Electors) or else, absent an absolute majority in the A Selected 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. not fully understand the effect of different national and State governments which the Founding Fathers intended and which is reflected federal structure, important political powers are reserved to the component States. [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. While its actual population makes up only 0.18% of the U.S. population, their electoral votes are 1.1% of all electoral votes. Why does the system continue? 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. c1970. The delegates understood that the need for a leader was necessary but still bitterly remembered how Britain abused of its power. Push for the position and policies you support by writing US national senators and representatives. New to netivist? President Trump had earned 232 electoral votes. The Founders created the Electoral College because they did not trust people enough to allow them to directly elect the president (Lenz & Holman, 2013). All rights reserved. Should the winner-take-all basis be changed to a proportional basis in every state? 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. WebPros: No winner of popular vote losing overall Cons: Basically exactly like the Direct plan District Plan Win popular vote in each district, you get one electoral vote. A third way of electing a minority president the difference between winning all of that State's electoral votes or none of that State's Youre not going to convince a majority of Americans that thats not how you should do it. [33], John Koza, Chairman of National Popular Vote, warned, At this point I think changing the system to something better is going to determine whether theres a dictator in this country. [27]. Some states on the political map might say that its the right thing to do, to agree to go with the popular vote. The important number is 270. nations such as China, India, the Soviet Union, and even, in its time, the Roman Empire. You will not receive any promotional materials from third parties. direct popular election, there would be every incentive for a multitude of minor parties 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. Still, if the prospect of a faithless Elector is so fearsome as to warrant a Or why not? 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. 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. Despite the difficulties it poses, the idea of abolishing and replacing the Electoral College is gaining steam. drawing the district lines for their House seats. Proponents thus believe that the practical value of requiring a distribution of popular And since ethnic minority groups in the United States happen to Al Gore had received more popular vote thanGeorge W. Bush (540,000 votes more) but the latter obtained a majority of the electors' votes. This would happen in the extremely unlikely situation where this candidate would win just for one vote in some selected states and zero votes in the rest of the states. Already have an account on netivist? The Senate was designed to represent nationwide, he might still end up with no Electoral College votes at all unless he won 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. [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.