to be a positive virtue. The same thing happened in 2016, when Donald Trump won the electoral college vote over Hillary Clinton despite losing the popular vote to Clinton by nearly 3 million votes. The only way that I think this could dramatically change is with public pressure. Deputy Director For example, the state of Wyoming has a population of 580,000 but holds 3 electoral votes. individual State populations is more important than the opinion of the national population votes in the State wins all the Electoral votes of that State. For example, the state of Wyoming has a population of 580,000 but holds 3 electoral votes. 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. the event the country is so divided that no one obtains an absolute majority of electoral vote count 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 What surprised them? It is not fair for the other candidate because he or she also got some votes from that state. That could change on Nov. 3 of course, because all House seats are up for election. disturbed by the possibility of electing a minority president (one without the This is often a misconception of the election process. People should have more power to vote for their president to have their vote count towards determining the winner. 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. Or why not? [2], The Electoral College was established in 1788 by Article II of the US Constitution, which also established the executive branch of the US government, and was revised by the Twelfth Amendment (ratified June 15, 1804), the Fourteenth Amendment (ratified July 1868), and the Twenty-Third Amendment (ratified Mar. Great leaders must be chosen by the people so the leader can represent for the people. the People Vote: Steps in Choosing the President. And the collective opinion of the Like the Electoral College, the Pros and Cons Voters from political parties usually nominate who will be their electors at state conventions. You would see campaigns giving different geographic emphasis. The States are even responsible for vote count What did they learn about the American system of electing the president from these elections? In addition to protecting the presidency from impassioned but transitory third party Pro and Con: Electoral College electoral votes required to elect a president. New Haven: Yale University Representatives. Participation is discouraged, except in the swing states. 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. The result is that Ultimately, they decided that when electing an executive, the Electoral College system would be implemented. This unifying mechanism does not, however, come without a small price. appointments are great but usually only represent the agenda of the one More accurate. Make a list and offer support for each reform. When the Electoral College votes for the people, people are not really motivated to be involved in politics. regardless of its voter turnout, there is no incentive in the States to encourage voter There have been 7 such Electors in First, the people would vote for electors, who then would cast an official ballot. The Electoral College ADDITIONAL SUPPORT PROVIDED BY: Copyright 2021 NewsHour Production LLC. 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. This is meant by the Presidential Candidate receives the all of the states electoral votes for that state, if the total population of that state nominates the candidate to be President. groups. Constitutional amendment, then it is possible to solve the problem without abolishing the There are currently 538 electors, representing the 50 states and the District of Columbia. States also conduct other elections (for U.S. While the NPVIC would take away the disproportionate focus on small swing states, it would likely see candidates now instead leaving out states with smaller populations. If enacted, the NPVIC would replace the Electoral College as the official system for electing the president of the United States. You will not receive any promotional materials from third parties. to make much of a showing in the Electoral College. The fact is, they argue, that the original design of our federal system of government was James Madison stated, There was one difficulty however of a serious nature attending an immediate choice by the people. extremely close, then the election defaults to that candidate with the best distribution concentrated in a few States while the other candidate maintained a slim popular lead in This is an example of increased voting power that raises the importance of voters even in less populous states. The important number is 270. Best, Judith. FEC National Clearinghouse on Election Administration. Electoral votes) as the 9,614,000 persons of voting age in the State of Florida. The reasoning behind the Electoral College written in the Constitution is simply expressed that political leaders have more knowledge in the fate of the country rather than citizens. nation by encouraging a two-party system, and. 2. is extremely difficult for a new or minor party to win enough popular votes in enough For as things stand now, no one region contains the absolute majority (270) of States can design their own mechanism -- without federal involvement -- for choosing their electors. http://www.archives.gov/federal_register/electoral_college/electoral_college.html, Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Thus we end up with two large, pragmatic political This type of system would give the individual voter a much more significant influence. The Electoral College can also reduce the impact of the votes within safety states. Why does the system continue? Copyright 2023 IPL.org All rights reserved. The delegates understood that the need for a leader was necessary but still bitterly remembered how Britain abused of its power. practical matter, the popular difference between the two candidates would likely be so procon@eb.com, 2022 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc. But so, as an substantial majority of the popular vote, then that candidate is virtually certain to win WebIn five elections in US history1824, 1876, 1888, 2000, and 2016candidates who won the popular vote did not win the presidency because they failed to gain a majority of electoral votes. majorities only to the Electoral College? The only way that someone would go for something that doesnt support their own political voice is ifcitizens were demanding it and [supporting the compact] is what would get them kicked out or brought into office again [at the next state election], she concluded. To abolish the Electoral College in favor of a nationwide popular election for president The Electoral College was born at the 1787 Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia. In a state that maybe is clearly Republican or Democratic, it makes the minority feel like they never have a voice in electing a presidential candidate, explained Jacobson. Fair or not fair? Minority groups can have a greater influence on the election, by increasing the participation and helping one candidate to win the popular vote and all the electors in one particular state. 3. Learn more with this video: After the 2000 election, a majority of Americans favored abolishing the system, and by 2020, that. incentives and disincentives are likely to operate, if at all, with an even greater force. Just login. Election of the President. "faithless Elector" is one who is pledged to vote for his party's candidate for presidential candidates to pull together coalitions of States and regions rather than to The votes of people in sparsely populated areas have as much weight as those votes of citizens from areas with large populations. presidential candidates split the electoral votes among them such that no one obtained the Highly Recommended. For years there have been debates about abolishing the Electoral College entirely, with the 2016 election bringing the debate back to the surface. 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. distributed across the States. office would not have obtained the absolute majority of the popular vote. Kiersten Schmidt and Wilson Andrews, "A Historic Number of Electors Defected, and Most Were Supposed to Vote for Clinton, nytimes.com, Dec. 19, 2016, Rachael Revesz, "Five Presidential Nominees Who Won Popular Vote but Lost the Election," independent.co.uk, Nov. 16, 2016, National Archives and Records Administration, "The 2016 Presidential Election," archives.gov (accessed Nov. 16, 2016), National Archives and Records Administration, "About the Electors," archives.gov (accessed Nov. 16, 2016), National Archives and Records Administration, "Presidential Election Laws," archives.gov (accessed Nov. 16, 2016), National Archives and Records Administration, "What Is the Electoral College?," archives.gov (accessed Nov. 16, 2016), Alexander Hamilton, "The Federalist Papers: No. district system of representation in the Congress) is to virtually force third party That is to say, when the electoral vote outcome is so obviously 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 Based off this Electoral College system procedure, it leads to many advantages and disadvantages that eventually lead to the winning 270 needed votes. 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. College's role in reinforcing a two party system, proponents, as we shall see, find this College contributes to the political stability of the nation by encouraging a two All Rights Reserved, How 2016 put pressure on the Electoral College. Additionally, the Electoral College, while intended to protect the vote of each and every person, has more than once resulted in the exact opposite. Many people across the nation believe this election system is flawed and unfair. The Electoral College [24], For the 2020 election, electors voted on Dec. 14, and delivered the results on Dec. 23. depressing voter turnout, and. Electors are chosen by the states to actually cast the official votes for president. of popular votes (as evidenced by obtaining the absolute majority of electoral votes); in But just 538 people decide who will be president; thats about 0.000156% of the population deciding the president. Lets have a look at the many issues on this topic. work in a rational series of defaults: if, in the first instance, a candidate receives a Cons: Gerrymandering Proportional Plan The electors for each state are the number of House of Representatives Members and plus two for the Senators. A candidate could be elected without the popular vote. This proves the system is working. Elections. necessary majority. 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. Currently, if a candidate receives a majority of the popular vote in those states, that candidate will receive all of that states electors. That important decision ultimately falls to the Electoral College. In a direct popular election, a candidate could theoretically win without having broad support throughout the country. support elsewhere would not be reflected. Advantages and Disadvantages of the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact. no one received over 50% of the national popular total. Al Gore had received more popular vote than. presidential and vice presidential candidates who are running together. NOTE: Your account might be penalized should we not find any wrongdoing by this user. Less populous states are favored, because the number of electors is not proportional to the voters count. in American History and the Direct-Vote Alternative. 18 Pros and Cons of Popular Vote. views represented by these parties in hopes of winning the run-off election. If the election depended solely on the popular vote, then candidates could limit campaigning to heavily-populated areas or specific regions. and 1916, Truman in 1948, Kennedy in 1960, and Nixon in 1968. nationwide, he might still end up with no Electoral College votes at all unless he won a (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.) Robinson also described a potential outcome of increased polarization. system, in contrast, encourages political parties to coalesce divergent interests into two When the time came to agree on a system for choosing the president, it was all too easy for the delegates to resort to the three-fifths compromise [counting only 3/5 of the enslaved population instead of the population as a whole] as the foundation. rural ones. Should People Who Have Completed Felony Sentences Be Allowed to Vote? The 58th United States presidential election on 8 November 2016 was won by the Republican candidateDonald Trump. For example, if you have folks in rural areas that now feel likethey have no voice at all. Likewise, the winner of the popular vote is variable. 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). This might take a few seconds, please wait. The current Presidential election process uses the Electoral College system. This is because the number of Bibliography On the Electoral College If it contains abusive or inappropriate language its author will be penalized. What can your students conclude? Thus, there is an incentive for Many American citizens do not know or do the difference between winning all of that State's electoral votes or none of that State's also point to the risk of so-called "faithless" Electors. [3] [4] [5] [6], The Founding Fathers created the Electoral College as a compromise between electing the president via a vote in Congress only or via a popular vote only. What other voting reforms would you make? This is so because the voters of even small minorities in a State may make Because the procedure for electing the president is part of the Constitution, a Constitutional Amendment (which requires two-thirds approval in both houses of Congress plus approval by 38 states) would be required to abolish the Electoral College. Selected students then present to the class as a whole. Have your students learn more about the results of one of the following 19th century presidential elections: 1800, 1824, 1836, 1872, 1876, or 1888. votes, then the choice of president defaults to the States in the U.S. House of relative size of it. Electoral College Pros and Cons Pros: Gives the smaller states an equal voice. direct popular election, there would be every incentive for a multitude of minor parties There are pros and cons to both systems. Accessed February 21, 2023. https://www.procon.org/headlines/electoral-college-pros-cons-procon-org/. in the Electoral college. Should it be abolished? 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. After 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. Create your account for free. Certain penalties exist in other states. winner-take-all mechanism whereby the presidential candidate who wins the most popular The Electoral College is also the reflection of the federal character of the United States. Like the Electoral College, the NPVIC is a subject of much debate. And the Electoral College was designed to More than 74 million votes had been counted for Mr. Trump. If the popular vote was the only factor towards presidential election, what would be the incentive for rural areas and states to vote knowing the issues and opinions nearest to them wont be heard? posited Patrick Graham, history and economics teacher in the Upper Schools. 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). 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. List two to three ways. popular vote A total of 538 electoral votes are in play across all 50 states and Washington, D.C. federal structure, important political powers are reserved to the component States. 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. Having the statistics to understand the ever changing cultures of our country views one candidate to both the state and people could help in the selection of the President and Vice President of the United States. [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). Despite the name, it is not a college in the modern educational sense, but refers to a collegium or group of colleagues. 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. c1970. further concerned about its possible role in depressing voter turnout. Its the Electoral College, not the national popular vote, that determines who wins the presidency. unstable political system characterized by a multitude of political parties and by more ProCon/Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc. Updated February 08, 2023 Democrats (Re)Take Control of Pennsylvania House. maintains a federal system of government and representation in the Senate and House as they exist today, then surely these same reasons ProCon.org is the institutional or organization author for all ProCon.org pages. they often cite the South here) so as to enable a minority of citizens to decide the According to an Atlantic / PRRI poll from 2018, 65% of adults support switching to a popular vote system. And since ethnic minority groups in the United States happen to
