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. 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. 1. Probably the NPV Compact would be enacted into law with as little as a simple majority of the states and possibly even less. Lawmakers discuss plan to enact National Popular Vote in Michigan. amazon web services address herndon va custom airbrush spray tan near me custom airbrush spray tan near me Under the electoral college system, the candidates which receive the most votes in each state (or district) receive its assigned electoral votes. Definition and Examples. In the 2020 election California did not certify their votes until Friday, December 11, only 3 days before the Electoral College met on Monday, December, 14. The election is held every four years on the first Tuesday in November and prior to election day, the two candidates endure state-level primaries, caucuses, debates, and conventions. Do you have information you want to share with HuffPost. Imagine a scenario where a presidential candidate focuses on Los Angeles, New York City, Portland, OR and Seattle. Currently, 48 of the 50 states follow the winner-take-all rule. But for those people who feel that changing how we elect the president should only be done by constitutional amendment they will feel that using the NPV Compact will undermine the legitimacy of the process even though its perfectly legal and constitutional. Since the Constitution and the Bill of Rights became governing documents in the United States, there have only been 17 amendments made to it. Less would get done, which would affect the needs of households at the local level. NCSL conducts policy research in areas ranging from agriculture and budget and tax issues to education and health care to immigration and transportation. National Popular Vote (NPV) was founded in 2006 by lottery scratch-card inventor John Koza and election lawyer Barry Fadem to lobby for an "interstate compact" for states to deliver their electoral votes for President to the "winner" of the national popular vote. The time to stop its momentum is now. As a result, an agreement between a group of states to cast all of their electoral votes in a similar manner, as proposed by the National Popular Vote plan passes constitutional muster. It happened once, in 1876. Under the electoral college system, if a state consistently pulls as leaning to one party, someone who supports the other party may not vote because they feel like there isnt a need to do so. June 7, 2022 . The states would implement this plan once enough states controlling 270 electoral votes have signed on, guaranteeing that the national popular vote winner will win the presidency.. 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 . A close election would trigger the need for a full recount. We have seen this outcome in the 2016 Presidential election between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump and in the 2000 election between George H.W. 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. Around six-in-ten U.S. adults (63%) say the way the president is elected should be changed so that the winner of the popular vote nationwide wins the presidency, while 35% favor keeping the current Electoral College system, according to a Pew Research Center survey conducted June 27-July 4, 2022. Proponents of the National Popular Vote fail to understand the most basic facts about the American presidential electoral system. Definition and Examples, How Political Party Convention Delegates are Chosen, What Is a Caucus? 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. And thats not how it should be in a democracy. There would be a reduced need to build coalitions. Of the 538 Electoral College votes available, Donald J. Trump received 304 votes, Hillary Clinton received 227 votes, and seven votes went to others: three for Colin Powell, one for Faith Spotted Eagle, one for John Kasich, one for Ron Paul, and one for Bernie Sanders). Watch out! 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. Either would likely produce an electoral vote count closer to the popular vote. That structure makes it easier for extremist views to find official representation. A faithless elector in the United States is someone who casts an electoral ballot for someone other than the individuals to whom they are pledged. Instead, it modifies the winner-take-all rule in a way its supporters say would assure that every vote will matter in every state in every presidential election. Candidates feel they either cant win or lose with the votes from these states. 5. It has been enacted into law in 11 states with 165 electoral votes, and will take effect when enacted by states with 105 more. The National Popular Vote Interstate Compact is an agreement where states in the compact award all their electoral votes to the winner of the . The Electoral College distorts presidential campaigns . The Electoral College system, however imperfect, serves this broader view of democracy. The National Popular Vote initiative transpired in 2006. If you need to flag this entry as abusive. And finally, the Electoral College doesnt work today anywhere near how the Founding Fathers intended it to work when they created it back in 1787. The electoral requires that an election which does not receive a majority of electoral votes be taken into the U.S. House of Representatives. That means a candidate who receives a majority of their votes in a high-delegate state, such as California, could make a dramatic impact on the rest of the election. However, in the popular vote, Trump only received 62,984,825 votes against Hillary Clinton's 65,853,516 popular votes. For the popular vote, however, Hillary Clinton received 65.8 million votes, while Donald Trump received 62.9 million votes. Second, some believe itll intensify election problems, such as illegally extended voting hours or irregularly high voter turnout (Richards). Actually the NPV Compact doesnt change one word in he Constitution and in fact only changes state laws. Or states might explore what was recently proposed in Colorado -- that electors be allocated in proportion to each candidate's share of the popular vote above a certain threshold. There would be fewer opportunities to illegally alter the results of an election. 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.. 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. That view of democracy recognizes the existence and desirability of organized interests and enshrines that principle under the concept of pluralism. 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. The one-vote approach does not align with the way the electoral votes operates. Post author: Post published: June 29, 2022 Post category: Uncategorized Post comments: paris apartment eiffel tower view for sale paris apartment eiffel tower view for sale Due to some states being heavily populated in comparison to others, that may help a candidate quickly obtain a win. The Constitution specifically leaves details like how the electoral votes are cast up to the states. It has been enacted into law in 11 states with 165 electoral votes, and will take effect when enacted by states with 105 more. Our state will likely vote overwhelmingly for the Republican challenger to Barack Obama in November. cons of the national popular vote plan. April 8, 2016 National popular vote far better than Electoral College system for choosing presidents, Stanford professors say. The popular vote currently gives every citizenCalifornians and Texans, Hawaiians and Mainers, Alabamans and Oregoniansan equal say in choosing the president. Bosque de Palabras pros and cons." dave leip's atlas of u.s. presidential elections. Get breaking news and updates from Common Cause. First it would be relatively easy to implement. According to the Constitution, the Electoral College is a compromise between election of the President by a vote in Congress and election of the President by a popular vote of qualified citizens (National Archives). Instead, each state and Washington D.C. is assigned a certain number of electoral votes based on its population. Their vote only counts at the local level, not the national level, because of the electoral votes. Most recently, the bill was passed by a bipartisan 4016 vote in the Republican-controlled Arizona House, 2818 in Republican-controlled Oklahoma Senate, 574 in Republican-controlled New York Senate, and 3721 in Democratic-controlled Oregon House." Presidential candidates have no reason to poll, visit, advertise, organize, or campaign in states that they cannot possibly win or lose; in 2016, 68% of presidential campaign visits took place in just six states. Yet, by May 2021, 15 states and Washington, D.C., had signed onto the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact. Secondly, it creates a minimalist depiction in the minds of the candidate towards more than 40 states. OKLAHOMA CITY Oklahomans will head to the polls March 7 to decide if the state will become the 22nd in the country to legalize recreational marijuana for use by anyone 21 and older. sale of united methodist church property. It fails to reach the ideal of one-person one-vote. This post was published on the now-closed HuffPost Contributor platform. Web. In addition, the bill has been unanimously approved at the committee level in the states of Georgia and Missouri, controlling a combined 27 electoral votes. Under the Electoral College system, voters in states that are overwhelmingly in support of one candidate might feel like their vote is unimportant. 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. It could encourage voter turnout. For the 7 presidential elections between 1992-2016, the Republican candidate has won the Electoral college 3 times. (See: Electoral Votes by State). Surprisingly enough, the National Popular Vote bill could possibly bring forth some problems. In 2016, Hillary Clinton had more than 10 million of these votes, while Donald Trump had more than 8.3 million, even though Trump won 30 states and Clinton won 20 and the District of Columbia. This was the intent of the Founding Fathers. If the election is based off a popular vote, each of these areas would need to be closely examined in real-time, which would enhance the security of each vote that is cast. That created a voter value of 2.85. Though the original, some would say highly undemocratic, purpose. Louisiana voters should decide who receives Louisiana's electoral votes. This is a situation that has caused controversy in the election years of of 1800, 1876, 1888, 2000 and 2016 when the elected president won the Electoral College and the presidency but did not win the popular vote. That effectively means that votes in the the 75% of the country that are in swing states effectively dont count at all. In the 2016 election, "swing states" that might vote Republican or Democrat like Wisconsin were targets of candidates Donald J. Trump and Hillary R. Clinton. Start and finish your paper with ease. Rebekah Richards is a professional writer with work published in the "Atlanta Journal-Constitution," "Brandeis University Law Journal" and online at tolerance.org. 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. Longley, Robert. While we look further into the National Popular Vote, lets investigate some of its pro and cons for the American democracy. mike matarazzo last photo. That's almost 1.5 billion . . If enacted by enough states, the National Popular Vote bill would guarantee the presidency to the candidate who receives the most popular votes in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Washington, DC 20005, Common Cause pays tribute to our leader, our friend, and a lifelong advocate for our democracy, Constitution, Courts & Other Democracy Issues, Ensure Fair Districts & Reflective Democracy, Expand Voting Rights & Election Integrity, Promote Free Speech & Accountability in Media, Protect the Constitution, Courts & Other Democracy Reforms. 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. Today, many electors are bound to vote according to their states' popular vote results, and those who aren't almost always do. 3. 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. 2. https://www.thoughtco.com/the-national-popular-vote-plan-3322047 (accessed March 4, 2023). Under the plan, Michigan's 15 Electoral . That would give the Compact states only 3 days( and two of those days were weekend days) to certify their state votes. 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. During the 2012 elections, 38 states, also known as spectator states, were ignored and forgotten. National Popular Vote - Pros and Cons "The National Popular Vote bill would guarantee the Presidency to the candidate who receives the most popular votes in the entire U.S. Every state is allocated several votes according to the number of senators and representatives in its U.S. Congressional delegation. Two-thirds of the campaign events were in four states, Florida, Iowa, Virginia, and Ohio, that year. The NPVIC is an agreement among states designed to guarantee election of the presidential candidate who wins the most popular votes in the 50 states and Washington, D.C. NPV is grounded in two powers delegated to states by the Constitution: the power to design rules for awarding their electoral votes and the power to enter into interstate Just another site cons of the national popular vote plan . Richards earned a master's degree at Carnegie Mellon University. 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. HuffPost's top politics stories, straight to your inbox. List of the Cons of Using the Popular Vote 1. Ken Bickers. 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. 5. The states' approval of the compact is a victory for democracy and the principle of "one person, one vote." 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. 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. This type of system would give the individual voter a much more significant influence. Lastly, it may cause a third-party candidate to prevail and win, which would allow Americans to be given more choices besides the two primary parties (Richards). 2015. Activating the National Popular Vote compact would reshape our . Each vote would affect each candidate instead of being overlooked due to which state those votes would be coming from. A Critique of the National Popular Vote October 13, 2008 Policy Analysis No. 1. Would you like to get a custom essay? on Advantages and Disadvantages of the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact, Follow All U.S. Citizens Should Vote. That is hardly a mandate for governing, though it would be taken as such. cons of the national popular vote plansuper lemon haze greenhouse. Here are six reasons why legislators should reject this attempt to jettison our electoral system: 1. Steve Sisolak vetoed it. The Electoral College is made up of 538 electors and a majority of 270 electoral votes is mandatory to nominate the President. Samploon is a database of free essay samples. It has been enacted by twelve states, which include Rhode Island, Vermont, Hawaii, the District of Columbia, Connecticut, Maryland, Massachusetts, Washington, New Jersey, Illinois, New York, and California. Inside Ohio or Florida, to pick two examples, the big cities do not receive all the attention, and they certainly do not control the outcome. tobin james the blend 2017 ; real estate marketing solutions; cons of the national popular vote plan; lassi kefalonia shops cons of the national popular vote plan 3. 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. On April 15, 2014 Governor Andrew Cuomo of New York State quietly signed into law the National Popular Vote, making New York the 10th state -- along with the District of Columbia -- to support this effort, while also boosting the total numbers to 165 of the 270 electoral votes needed to make a true national popular vote a reality. ThoughtCo, Dec. 16, 2020, thoughtco.com/the-national-popular-vote-plan-3322047. Under the Electoral College/Winner-Take-All system votes in small states, like Wyoming or Delaware count double what votes in large states like California or Texas. If that was to take place, America could potentially face the same issues it is facing now. 9. The Supreme Court has said in local and state elections voting should be based on the principle of one person one vote. 3. Copyright 2023 Leaf Group Ltd. / Leaf Group Education, Explore state by state cost analysis of US colleges in an interactive article, Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections: The Electoral College, University of the Pacific: Electoral College Reform, University of Missouri-Kansas City Law School: The Electoral College. There are a number of pros for this method. Because of the Winner-Take-All state laws candidates for president only campaign and spend their money in 12-13 swing states because voters in those few swing states determine who wins the election and presidential candidates totally ignore voters in the rest of the country(except to raise money). Using a popular vote system, candidates could campaign regionally, targeting major areas of support, to secure enough votes to win an election. Moving to the popular vote structure would eliminate this potential issue. Home| Government| Elections| Electoral College| Electoral College Pros And Cons. 4. In fact, let's tally up all the votes cast for president between 1932 and 2008. It would reduce the threshold necessary to win the office. Although many supporters of the electoral college argue that a two-party political system is more stable, some critics counter that having more than two parties would give Americans more choice. Privacy Policy. Even the minority party wouldnt be encouraged to negotiate because they could simply stall until the next election. Advantages of the NPV Interstate Compact 1. The years-old effort is slowly making its way through state legislatures in hopes of changing the way (LogOut/ It would eliminate the Congressional provisions for a non-majority election. Bush and Al Gore (Black). Regional candidates could secure enough votes to win a national election. The cost of a presidential election in the United States is already several billion dollars. In contrast, other issues related to the federal government are not exclusively entrusted to the states, and therefore the states lack the power to alter them. E pluribus unum -- out of many, one. 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. When the Constitution was set in place in 1789, the U.S. elected its first president. Inicio; Nota Biografica; Obra; Blogs. The United States does not have direct election of its president, yet most national, state and local offices are filled by the candidate with the most votes. Although faithless electors have not affected the results or outcome of an election yet, in 2016, there were 7 faithless electors. That principle should be expanded to presidential elections. The states that join the NPV Compact will not be able to certify their Electoral College Votes until all 50 states and DC certify their state popular votes and any mandated/requested recounts since the Compact state ECVs are dependent on the winner of the national popular vote and not just their own state popular votes. Although moving to a popular vote election would balance the weight of each vote, it would also create more sway in larger population states. Change). Similarly, because a national campaign mandates a national message, there would also be a smaller incentive for coalition-building or taking into account the characteristics, needs and desires of citizens in differing states and regions. After all, the Electoral College makes it possible that a candidate who wins the majority of the votes could still lose the election. 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. At the moment, 98 more electoral votes are needed to pass this bill in all 50 states (National Conference of State Legislators). 1. 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. Would it aid a fight to eliminate first past the post or would it further entrench the established party system voters American voters have expressed disdain for. The discussion around using the popular vote for elections has increased since the results of the 2016 election. The National Popular Vote plan is a bill passed by participating state legislatures agreeing that they will cast all of their electoral votes for the presidential candidate winning the nationwide popular vote. The Pros and Cons of the Electoral College - SmartAsset The electoral college is a tradition of American politics that's fairly controversial. On Dec. 22, 2016, the results were certified in all 50 states. 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. According to Article II, Section 1, "Each State shall appoint, in such Manner as the Legislature thereof may direct, a Number of Electors, equal to the whole Number of Senators and Representatives to which the State may be entitled in the Congress." I will explain that in another blog post. 3. 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. You can use essay samples to find ideas and inspiration for your paper. 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. Cons of Electoral College. And unlike direct elections, either would provide an incentive for grass-roots activity, coalition building and enhanced citizen participation. Maryland and New Jersey passed this bill in 2007, Hawaii and Illinois in 2008, Washington in 2009, Massachusetts and the District of Columbia in 2010, California and Vermont in 2011, Rhode Island in 2013, New York in 2014 and Connecticut in 2018. Resource allocation would be focused on paid advertising, which would negate the need for grassroots activities. If this happens many people in the red states will not feel that the change is legitimate even if its legal and technically constitutional. There are logistical issues that are managed at the local level in each election. Because every vote is equal inside Ohio or Florida, presidential candidates avidly seek out voters in small, medium, and large towns. The Congressional District method would allocate electoral votes based on the winner of each congressional district. evergreen funeral home live stream. Some areas may bend the rules of an election by extending voting hours illegally. She graduated magna cum laude from Brandeis University with bachelor's degrees in creative writing, English/American literature and international studies. In states with large population centers, individual voters have less power than voters in smaller states. Currently, the National Popular Vote bill has 172 electoral votes. Feb 25, 2023. 13 Early College High School Pros and Cons, 18 Major Advantages and Disadvantages of the Payback Period, 20 Advantages and Disadvantages of Leasing a Car, 19 Advantages and Disadvantages of Debt Financing, 24 Key Advantages and Disadvantages of a C Corporation, 16 Biggest Advantages and Disadvantages of Mediation, 18 Advantages and Disadvantages of a Gated Community, 17 Big Advantages and Disadvantages of Focus Groups, 17 Key Advantages and Disadvantages of Corporate Bonds, 19 Major Advantages and Disadvantages of Annuities, 17 Biggest Advantages and Disadvantages of Advertising. A direct popular election would make it more possible for third-party candidates to succeed and would also encourage political parties to become more radical and extreme. 4. Learn more about how the National Popular Vote compact works and the ways it could make our elections better for everyone. The United States has a representative democracy rather than a direct democracy: Citizens elect representatives rather than voting on each bill. That offers the possibility that someone unwilling or unable to hold the office could be elected. In 2016, Gary Johnson received 4.48 million votes and 0 electoral votes, but the potential is always there for this to happen. A popular vote election would bring the presidential election in line with the rest of the election structures. When you visit the site, Dotdash Meredith and its partners may store or retrieve information on your browser, mostly in the form of cookies. If a popular vote were allowed to declare a winner instead, it wouldnt be through a state-by-state counting of electoral votes. The amendment requires that any change to the rate of compensation for members of Congress can only take effect after a subsequent election in the House of Representatives.