That means every state is allowed a minimum of 3 electoral votes. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email. 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. Without any sort of broad support, the politics of the country could become even more fractured than they already are. Due to some states being heavily populated in comparison to others, that may help a candidate quickly obtain a win. Pros and cons of district elections | Columnists | smdailyjournal.com And in all states but Maine and Nebraska, the candidate who receives the most votes in that state is awarded all of its electoral votes, whether the split is 51% to 49% or 99% to 1%. cons of the national popular vote planchicago religious demographics. 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. What would happen during a switch to the popular vote would be unknown. This type of system would give the individual voter a much more significant influence. The Electoral College Vs. Popular Vote - 1203 Words | 123 Help Me For under its plan, the next time the U.S. has very close national vote, a recount would not be of six million votes in one state but of more than 130 million votes in all states and the District of Columbia, all with their own rules for conducting a recount. That principle should be expanded to presidential elections. 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 She graduated magna cum laude from Brandeis University with bachelor's degrees in creative writing, English/American literature and international studies. For the 7 presidential elections between 1992-2016, the Republican candidate has won the Electoral college 3 times. national popular vote plan pros and cons - shipoom.com 48 Vitosha Boulevard, ground floor, 1000, Sofia, Bulgaria, Samploon, Inc. 2022. The Case Against the Popular Vote | The New Republic Inkwell | Everything You Need to Know About the National Popular Vote National Popular Vote This National Popular Vote Compact wouldn't take effect until states with 270 electors a majority joined in. 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. cons of the national popular vote plansuper lemon haze greenhouse. A direct popular election also ensures that citizens' votes have equal weight. One of the biggest reasons why voters dont vote is because they feel like their vote doesnt count. 8. The bill has passed one chamber in 12 additional states with 96 electoral votes. Lawmakers discuss plan to enact National Popular Vote in Michigan. Is the National Popular Vote Plan Constitutional? 7. In 2016, Florida had 29 electoral votes and 9.4 million voters, created a voter value of 0.72. As of July 2020, a National Popular Vote bill has been signed into law in 16 states controlling a total of 196 electoral votes, including 4 small states, 8 medium-sized states, 3 big states (California, Illinois, and New York), and the District of Columbia. 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. Some areas may bend the rules of an election by extending voting hours illegally. Why National Popular Vote Would Be a Disaster for America (and NPV If you need to flag this entry as abusive. Do you have information you want to share with HuffPost. "The National Popular Vote Plan." Activating the National Popular Vote compact would reshape our . Cons: Smaller states don't get as much of a say and people would demand a national recount National Bonus Plan Winner of popular vote gets extra 102 electoral votes Pros: 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. But we're closer to that than you might think 15 states and the District of Columbia have already signed on, providing 196 electoral votes of the needed 270. NPV supporters claim, accurately, that a direct election for president would reduce or eliminate the possibility that a fringe candidate (like a Ralph Nader or Ron Paul) winning five percent or less of the vote in a single state could serve to defeat a major party candidate from the same side of the political spectrum. In U.S. history, the electoral college winner has failed to secure the popular vote 5 times. Electoral College Pros and Cons - ThoughtCo 4. 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. HuffPost's top politics stories, straight to your inbox. On a close popular vote, often defined as a difference of 0.5% or less in the tabulated results, an automatic recount would likely be triggered. 5. cons of the national popular vote plan - alshamifortrading.com Many Americans are confused about how a win is obtained under these conditions and are on a quest to change this traditional statute. That means some voters, like Republicans in California or Democrats in Mississippi, are voting without power and without attention from their preferred candidates each year. Thats the way it has been in this country for a long time. . Pros & Cons of Selecting Government Officials by Direct Election As the National Popular Vote (NPV) movement steps up its effort to impose a direct election for president, attempting to enlist states with a sufficient number of electors to constitute a majority (268) and to bind them to the winner of the national popular vote, those states considering the proposal might first reflect on the nightmare aftermath of the 2000 presidential election. But don't forget, Bush won the popular vote four years later by three million votes. It is not at all clear that it would similarly prosper under the direct election regime being pushed by NPV. 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. Now, the states are considering the National Popular Vote plan, a system that, while not doing away with the Electoral College system, would modify it to ensure that the candidate winning the national popular vote is ultimately elected president. This post was published on the now-closed HuffPost Contributor platform. Change), You are commenting using your Facebook account. Home| Government| Elections| Electoral College| Electoral College Pros And Cons. In the 2016 election, only 58 percent of eligible voters went to the polls. Many people may feel that any major change in how we elect the president should be in the Constitution and not in a legal loop hole even if its legal and technically constitutional. Our state will likely vote overwhelmingly for the Republican challenger to Barack Obama in November. Although it is sometimes conjectured that a national popular election would focus only on big cities, it is clear that this would not be the case. 15 states and Washington, D.C. have joined the National Popular Vote compact. The Electoral College is made up of 538 electors and a majority of 270 electoral votes is mandatory to nominate the President. 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. Moving to the popular vote structure would eliminate this potential issue. After the 2016 presidential election, political science expert Nate Silver wrote that, since the swing states are not likely to support any plan that might reduce their influence over control of the White House, the National Popular Vote bill will not succeed unless the predominately Republican red states adopt it. In states with large population centers, individual voters have less power than voters in smaller states. National Popular Vote: Circumventing the United States Constitution pros and cons." dave leip's atlas of u.s. presidential elections. Imperfect, because its modern-day blessings -- enhancing coalition building, pluralism, federalism and grass-roots participation -- are enjoyed only by a minority of states (in any given presidential election 18 or 20), where the battle for electoral votes is competitive for both major parties. 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. Advantages and Disadvantages of the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact 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. People are moving to live in like-minded communities more than ever before. But if some non-member 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. Since the Constitution and the Bill of Rights became governing documents in the United States, there have only been 17 amendments made to it. That would give the Compact states only 3 days( and two of those days were weekend days) to certify their state votes. However, in the popular vote, Trump only received 62,984,825 votes against Hillary Clinton's 65,853,516 popular votes. Surprisingly enough, the National Popular Vote bill could possibly bring forth some problems. In the case of a tie, there are contingencies in place to determine which person will serve in the elected office. Even if states impose fines on faithless electors for their actions, it is not a guarantee that the behavior will stop. PDF The Direct Election Plan - tesd.net Candidates feel these states need a little bit more of their attention and apply pressure to supply these states with solutions to their problems in order to gain their vote. To determine the National Popular Vote winner, state election officials simply would tally the nationwide vote for president based on each states official results. You are also agreeing to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. on Advantages and Disadvantages of the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact, Follow All U.S. Citizens Should Vote. The NPV Interstate Compact does not eliminate the very complicated Electoral College system that most voters dont really understand. A majority of 270 electoral votes is required to elect the president. National Popular Vote Interstate Compact - Wikipedia cons of the national popular vote plan. This text is available online and is used for gudiance and inspiration, We use cookies to give you the best experience possible. 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. And that would lead to chaos in how political parties campaign for president and could also undermine the legitimacy of the process. Under the National Popular Vote plan,the compact would take effect only when enabling legislation has been enacted by states collectively possessing a majority of the electoral votes:270 of 538 total. The Pros and Cons of the Electoral College - SmartAsset State Question 820 lays out a statutory framework for a recreational industry that would begin about 90 days after election results are certified. 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. The method works by electing one elector within each congressional district by popular vote and selecting the remaining two electors by a statewide popular vote. Voters in spectator states, including five of the nations 10 most populous states (California, Texas, New York, Illinois, and New Jersey), and 12 of the 13 least populous states (all but New Hampshire) have no real incentive to go to the polls as their votes do not affect the outcome of the election. Because every vote is equal inside Ohio or Florida, presidential candidates avidly seek out voters in small, medium, and large towns. Unexpected emergencies would be difficult to handle. The last amendment, the 27th Amendment to the Constitution, was ratified nearly 200 years after it was originally proposed. Poly Sci Final Flashcards | Quizlet Once effective, states could withdraw from the compact at any time except during the six-month window between July 20 of an election year and Inauguration Day (January 20). 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. And that would undermine the legitimacy of the NPV among those people. 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. Note: Today we are in a phase where the popular vote in presidential elections leans Democratic. Lastly, the biggest problem that the Electoral College produces is the reality that a persons vote really doesnt matter (Black). The framers enacted the provisions relating to the Electoral College to allow for state innovation. 622 By John Samples The National Popular Vote plan (NPV), introduced in more than 40 states, and adopted. The Electoral College distorts presidential campaigns . Although moving to a popular vote election would balance the weight of each vote, it would also create more sway in larger population states. 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 states' approval of the compact is a victory for democracy and the principle of "one person, one vote." If a popular vote were allowed to declare a winner instead, it wouldnt be through a state-by-state counting of electoral votes. 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. Would you like to get a custom essay? The cost of a presidential election in the United States is already several billion dollars. It was a great idea in 1787 but the country has changed since 1787 and the people today want to elect the president by a simple, direct popular vote where whoever gets the most votes wins like we do in every other election in the country. It is perhaps the most simplistic form of an election. The National Popular Vote Plan. Either would likely produce an electoral vote count closer to the popular vote. Although faithless electors have not affected the results or outcome of an election yet, in 2016, there were 7 faithless electors. In a direct popular election, a candidate could theoretically win without having broad support throughout the country. Change). And unlike direct elections, either would provide an incentive for grass-roots activity, coalition building and enhanced citizen participation. Bosque de Palabras Nevada passed the legislation in 2019, but Gov. Battleground states would disappear in U.S. elections. Ten reasons I support the National Popular Vote | MinnPost cons of the national popular vote plan - vidasproductivas.org . Or the opposite could be true. In Maine, both houses of the legislature passed the bill in 2019, but it failed at the final enactment step. The danger of NPV is that it will undermine the complex and vital underpinnings of American democracy. It would reduce the threshold necessary to win the office. University of Colorado Boulder Currently, candidates focus more on swing and battleground states to help them gain those electoral votes. Common Cause A Critique of the National Popular Vote October 13, 2008 Policy Analysis No. Start and finish your paper with ease. It is also true that no president since 1824 has received the votes of a majority of the eligible voters and 18 presidents, including Andrew Jackson, Abraham Lincoln, Woodrow Wilson, Harry S. Truman, John. Just another site cons of the national popular vote plan . cons of the national popular vote plan In theory that could happen every four years. And thats not how it should be in a democracy. 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. 9. Cons of Electoral College. The Fatally Flawed National Popular Vote Plan | Cato at Liberty Blog In 2016, Gary Johnson received 4.48 million votes and 0 electoral votes, but the potential is always there for this to happen. cons of the national popular vote plan It knows that a majoritarianism that produces a plurality is not the voice of a majority of the citizenry. It gives each vote an equal amount of power. The winner would receive all of the compact states electoral votes, giving them at least the necessary 270 to win the White House. 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. 12th Amendment: Fixing the Electoral College, What Is Majoritarianism? Reddit and its partners use cookies and similar technologies to provide you with a better experience. Past Event: The League of Women Voters of Berrien and Cass Counties has announced plans to broadcast a webinar discussing the National Popular Vote (NPV) on Monday, Feb. 27 at 7:00 p.m. National Popular Vote has been leading the campaign to fix the electoral college and elect the president by national popular vote since its founding in 2006 . The National Popular Vote plan would eliminate what critics of the Electoral College system point to as the "winner-take-all" rule - the awarding all of a state's electoral votes to the candidate who receives the most popular votes in that state. Longley, Robert. Electoral College pros and cons: is popular vote better? - netivist Although the 20th Amendment to the Constitution provides clarity to this situation, that process is based on the electoral college. 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. This feature is critical to the passionate bipartisan support the compact receives. Before the 2016 election, the largest vote deficit in the popular vote was Al Gore securing over 500,000 votes more than George W. Bush. There would be fewer opportunities to illegally alter the results of an election. Because a direct election would be, by definition, national and resource allocation would be overwhelmingly dominated by paid television advertising, there would be little impetus for grass-roots activity. For more information, please see our Also the NPV Compact allows states to withdraw from the compact as late as four months before an election. 5. 6. How the US Electoral College System Works, Biography of Donald Trump, 45th President of the United States, What Is Statutory Law? 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. But the biggest problem with changing how we elect our president using the NPV Compact is that its too easy to change it back. An individuals vote doesnt make a difference when it is counted against the votes of the delegates in the House of Representatives and Senate. 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. Since 2008, 15 states and the District of Columbia have passed laws to adopt the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact (NPVIC), which is an multi-state agreement to commit electors to. It would eliminate the threat of a faithless elector. In each instance the republic has survived, and democracy has prospered despite the challenges presented. By rejecting non-essential cookies, Reddit may still use certain cookies to ensure the proper functionality of our platform. evergreen funeral home live stream. Oklahoma voters weigh pros, cons of legalizing recreational marijuana 27 Major Pros & Cons Of The Electoral College - E&C 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.. 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 . 3. 4. It could help to reduce partisanship. A close election would trigger the need for a full recount. And thats not how it should be in a democracy. Richard F. Potthoff looks critically at a proposed alternative way of electing the US president, the National Popular Vote plan, where all states in an interstate compact which cover 270 or more electoral votes would cast their electoral votes for the candidate who won the nationwide vote, no matter who wins their state. Advantage: Encourages Voter Turnout Although this may limit the amount of diversity that occurs in office, and may generate extra financial costs, the argument could be made that these risks outweigh the results of an election where a majority of states, not a majority of people, put someone into office. 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. The pros and cons of the popular vote structure of an election allow for the majority to have their say in who they wish to serve. This advance is referred to as the winner-take-all approach. 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. Ken Bickers. On Dec. 22, 2016, the results were certified in all 50 states. F. Kennedy, Richard Nixon, Bill Clinton and George W. Bush were elected with less than a majority of the votes cast. The use of the Electoral College has been the only approach the U.S. has used to gain a President, but this way has generated numerous issues. Part of HuffPost Politics. Steve Sisolak vetoed it. Today, many electors are bound to vote according to their states' popular vote results, and those who aren't almost always do. But with the NPV Compact a change in party control of just one or two states could restore the old system of electing the president and then four years later it could be changed back. 2. The National Popular Vote stems from the winner-take-all approach that validates the presidential candidate interactions with only 4 out of 50 dates during their campaign. The National Popular Vote proposal is doomed if even only - LSE Blogs The lack of competition and campaigning in a majority of states owes itself not to the existence of the Electoral College's indirect method of choosing presidents but rather to the winner-take-all method of choosing electors in all but two states. The selection of presidential electors is specifically entrusted to the states by the Constitution. Past Event - LWV Webinar on Popular Vote - The Buchanan Chronicle Advantages & Disadvantages of a Direct Popular Election Unless the national popular vote was very close, or there were all lot of recounts outstanding, the Compact states in most cases would effectively know what the outcome would be and could be prepared to certify their state votes very quickly to make the Electoral College meeting date deadline. You can find out more about our use, change your default settings, and withdraw your consent at any time with effect for the future by visiting Cookies Settings, which can also be found in the footer of the site. Longley, Robert. 4. Advantages and Disadvantages of the National Popular Vote Interstate In fact, the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact, which has now been adopted by 15 states and the District of Columbia, totaling 196 electoral votes, is an actionable and realistic . Our experts will write for you an essay on any topic, with any deadline and requirements from scratch, Electoral College and National Popular Vote Pros and Cons. With a popular vote in place, each election win would be decreed a mandate to follow the platform of the winning party. Without change, a plan for a national popular vote could undermine the The danger of NPV is that it will undermine the complex and vital underpinnings of American democracy. The country could become less stable and divided if he or she did not have a vast amount of support (Richards). As the National Popular Vote (NPV) movement steps up its effort to impose a direct election for president, attempting to enlist states with a sufficient number of electors to constitute a majority (268) and to bind them to the winner of the national popular vote, those states considering the proposal might first reflect on the nightmare aftermath But the much greater danger to American democracy is that direct elections may make it possible for a president to be elected by no more than 30 percent of the vote, regardless of his or her suitability for office, so long as there is sufficient money and a clever media advisor behind the effort.