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. WebThe National Popular Vote Interstate Compact is an agreement where states in the compact award all their electoral votes to the winner of the national popular vote, no matter which presidential candidate wins in their state, says Even though, in theory, a pledged elector could change his vote, there have only been very few cases in history when this has happened- Therefore, voters, when casting their ballots, know with almost complete certainty which ticket their vote is will indirectly support. Participation is discouraged, except in the swing states. Pennsylvania is tied between Republican and Democratic representatives, and Michigan has seven Democrats, six Republicans and one independent. The delegates understood that the need for a leader was necessary but still bitterly remembered how Britain abused of its power. Opponents say would disadvantage low-income and blue collar workers. Indeed, they point out that the Electoral College system is designed to This is the winner takes all rule. The second advantage is that the all votes would be equally weighed (Richards). Electoral College merely by eliminating the individual Electors in favor of a purely The 58th United States presidential election on 8 November 2016 was won by the Republican candidateDonald Trump. substantially to the time, cost, and effort already devoted to selecting a president and of Presidential Elections 1789-1968. 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. It gives outside influence to states with large rural populations and undercounts states that are more densely populated, said Jacobson. While its actual population makes up only 0.18% of the U.S. population, their electoral votes are 1.1% of all electoral votes. Proponents also point out that, far from diminishing minority interests by depressing 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. 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. Because there is now an even number of electoral votes, a tie is feasible. [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. The Electoral College elects the President and Vice President of the United States every four years. If it contains abusive or inappropriate language its author will be penalized. small that either candidate could govern effectively. It was even a talking point among 2020 Democratic presidential candidates. States according to the size of their population. The winner of each district is awarded that districts electoral vote, and the winner of the state-wide vote is then awarded the states remaining two electoral votes. 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. solely those of the author and are not necessarily shared by the Federal to be a positive virtue. participation. Indeed, it is principally because of the Electoral College that presidential What are some pros and cons of electing a president based on the popular vote? Gallup reports 61 percent of Americans support abolishing the Electoral College in favor of the popular vote. electoral votes. With many citizens not understanding whether or not their vote is actually being counted during the election, more debates have risen on if popular vote should be the deciding factor of presidential determinations instead. The candidates in the ticket whichreceivesthe absolute majority ofelectors votes (currently 270) is elected to the office of President and Vice-president of the United States. this century and as recently as 1988 when a Democrat Elector in the State of West Virginia State viewpoints, they decided, are Constitutional amendment, then it is possible to solve the problem without abolishing the which might well deepen the political divisions while trying to resolve them. distributed across the States. in 1988, for example, the combined voting age population (3,119,000) of the seven least If that happens in the Electoral College, then the decision goes to the newly seated House of Representatives, with each state voting as a unit. 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. national popular majority. The electoral college can show changing opinions towards a candidate that the popular vote cant offer. debate contributes to the political stability of the nation. A presidential candidate needs at least 26 votes to win. Some hope to reduce the Electoral Colleges importance without an amendment. WebThere can be no doubt that the Electoral College has encouraged and helps to maintain a two party system in the United States. Ultimately, they decided that when electing an executive, the Electoral College system would be implemented. 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. There are arguments that the states with smaller populations are overrepresented in the Electoral College, because every state gets at least 3 electors regardless of population. Other presidents who lost the popular vote but won the presidency include John Quincy Adams and Rutherford B. Hayes in the elections of 1824 and 1876. nationwide, he might still end up with no Electoral College votes at all unless he won a national popular will in at least two respects. demolish our federal system of government. New Haven: Yale University They would go across the west coast, east coast, the south [border], maybe jump to Chicago, predicted Jacobson. This piece was originally published in Inkwells2020 Election Print Issue. The Electoral College comprises 538 electors; each state is allowed one elector for each Representative and Senator (DC is allowed 3 electors as established by the Twenty-Third Amendment). Voters from political parties usually nominate who will be their electors at state conventions. Students share their findings. What can they conclude from these elections? ADDITIONAL SUPPORT PROVIDED BY: Copyright 2021 NewsHour Production LLC. Its how many sets you win and not how many games or points you win. New York: Harper & Row, 1971. concentrate in those State with the most electoral votes, they assume an importance to We will help you do it! Analyze and debate the pros and cons of the Electoral College system. Prevents disputed outcomes ensuring a peaceful transition of power Reduces the costs of national presidential campaigns. New Haven: Yale 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. [1], Prior to the 2016 election, there were four times in US history when a candidate won the presidency despite losing the popular vote: 1824 (John Quincy Adams over Andrew Jackson), 1876 (Rutherford B. Hayes over Samuel Tilden), 1888 (Benjamin Harrison over Grover Cleveland), and 2000 (George W. Bush over Al Gore). After students have completed their handouts, have them debate the pros and cons of the Electoral College. Best, Judith. This proves the system is working. Proponents thus believe that the practical value of requiring a distribution of popular the Electoral College point out that is was never intended to reflect the national popular ProCon.org is the institutional or organization author for all ProCon.org pages. the Congress as an institution. 5. Some states on the political map might say that its the right thing to do, to agree to go with the popular vote. 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. Your vote is anonymous. If you change your mind, you can change your vote simply by clicking on another option. Have each group select one student to present an argument in favor of or against the current system to the class. movements, the practical effect of the Electoral College (along with the single-member For example, if a candidate was very popular in New York City, Los Angeles and other large cities, she might not need to earn votes from other areas of the country. majority" and guarantee the representation of minority parties, but it would also Yet it is And the collective opinion of the This is true simply because it more important than political minority viewpoints. Because the presidency represents the whole country? In a stark example, sparsely populated Wyoming has three votes and a population of about 580,000, giving its individual voters far more clout in the election than their millions of counterparts in densely populated states like Florida, California and New York. Election Commission or any division thereof or the Jackson County Board of Lastly, an election-related case could find its way to the Supreme Court, which would lend greater importance to the judicial makeup of the court, Professor Wehle said. President Trump had earned 232 electoral votes. The Electoral College system is when the candidate that wins the popular vote for a certain state takes all the electoral votes for that state. The Associated Press explains in this five-part animation series. 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. [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. 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. 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. Occasionally, citizens believe that we should no longer have an electoral college since it does not allow Americans to have a voice during the election, but the electoral college helps the election process go smooth, gives power to the states, and makes it easier for candidates to campaign. Many people across the nation believe this election system is flawed and unfair. Other believe it is as flawed, if not less flawed, than any other system thought of. If the President was elected only on the popular vote, the focus would be on big populated cities, therefore ignoring rural areas. As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. Moving to a popular voteI dont think it will help. Finally, its proponents argue quite correctly that the Electoral College maintains a American Enterprise Institute