However, each state's total allotment is based on its representation in the Senate (always two people) and the House (varies by . Start studying ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF ELECTORAL COLLEGE. That is hardly a mandate for governing, though it would be taken as such. 3. Candidates, therefore,. In 1888, another time there was a split between the popular vote and the Electoral College, the candidate who prevailed (Benjamin Harrison) swept the nations largest states including its largest, New York, by one percentage point. 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. In her book about voter turnout, Meredith Rolfe of the University of Massachusetts points out that in U.S. elections, turnout is higher in states that make it easier to register to vote, for example by permitting it right up to an election, having registration offices that are open evenings and weekends and allowing absentee registration. Advantages and Disadvantages of the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact, Follow All U.S. Citizens Should Vote. Electoral College pros and cons: is popular vote better? - netivist Closed Captioning and Described Video is available for many CBC shows offered on CBC Gem. The Electoral College was established in the Constitution to protect minority interests and mitigate the possibility of a regional candidate. In a popular vote, states with higher turnout will directly increase their influence in the outcome of the presidential race. 1. By adding this new interstate compact to the Electoral College/Winner-Take-All system to elect our president we are in fact making this system even more complicated and even harder for the voters to understand. It largely misses the real reason the Electoral College so often produces results counter to the majority: The winner takes all within most states. Justin Trudeau has promised that last fall's federal election will be the last conducted under the first-past-the-post voting system. This gives smaller states a disproportionate influence in presidential elections. Less would get done, which would affect the needs of households at the local level. 2023 eNotes.com, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Nate Cohn is a domestic correspondent for The Upshot. But the winner of the popular vote may end up losing the election, like Al Gore did in 2000 and Hillary Clinton in 2016. Over the long run the countrys popular vote in presidential elections has roughly been equally split between Republican and Democratic.*. Advantages and disadvantages of voting systems - Today In BC Advantages & Disadvantages of a Direct Popular Election - The Classroom In fact, he won seven of the 10 largest states, and Hillary Clinton won seven of the 12 smallest states. Under the current structure of presidential elections in the U.S., the states become a battleground of red states vs. blue states. It would reduce the threshold necessary to win the office. [2], Critics of the system that uses the electoral vote to choose a president argue that the system is unfair. 1. PBS: What does voter turnout tell us about the 2016 election. Actually the NPV Compact doesnt change one word in he Constitution and in fact only changes state laws. 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. If the National Popular Vote bill is passed, it will have a ripple effect in Americas politics. It's time to abolish the Electoral College | Brookings Thats the way it has been in this country for a long time. In principle, this would be an effective way to undo the Electoral College system without a constitutional amendment. The Electoral College was established by Article II of the Constitution. Why do young people vote less than their elders? The aim of the National Popular Vote is to ensure the popular vote dictates the Electoral College results, making every vote in every state count. A popular vote election takes all ballots that are cast, counts them, and declares the winner based on who received the most votes. List of the Pros of Using the Popular Vote 1. But if we set politics aside and focus on what is really best for democracy in our country in the long run I believe that the advantages of using the NPV compact to elect our president outweigh the disadvantages and the best way to elect our president in the 21st century is by direct popular vote using Ranked Choice Voting. They say that the system is undemocratic because the number of electoral votes is not directly proportional to the population of the state. When I talk with young people, the No. Educators go through a rigorous application process, and every answer they submit is reviewed by our in-house editorial team. It would reduce the influence of third parties on the U.S. presidential election. I do think that one of the disadvantages would be that there is a change in the Constitutional structure of the election of the President. Dr. Clawson explains that, as the system stands now, presidential campaigns focus solely on winning the Electoral College. eNotes.com will help you with any book or any question. As Aaron Blake argued when he wrote for the Washington Post, the electoral college forces candidates to structure their campaign in a specific way; they focus on about a dozen "purple" or swing states such as Florida, Ohio, Wisconsin, North Carolina, Virginia, Iowa and New Hampshire. That would be a sensible model for the US to adopt if we were to drop the Electoral College.. In a closely contested direct popular election, every precinct across the country might require close examination, rather than a handful of states or precincts. George Bush (electoral vote winner) vs. Al Gore in 2000: Al Gore won the popular vote by 543,816 votes, Benjamin Harrison (electoral vote winner) vs. Grover Cleveland in 1888, Rutherford B. Hayes (winner) vs. Samuel J. Tilden in 1876: Tiden won the popular vote by 264,292 votes, John Quincy Adams won the electoral vote in 1824 but lost the popular vote to Andrew Jackson by 44,804 votes in 1824. An Electoral College map from the 1976 Carter/Ford campaign that was used by the 1980 Reagan campaign to strategize. 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 although the United States isnt alone in seeing a gap, it fares pretty dismally, with the fifth-lowest youth turnout in the sample and the fourth-biggest gap between youth and overall turnout. 4. In the United States, some of those obstacles are, or once were, intentional. This is rooted in the idea that the Constitution works best when it is not changed and elminating the Electoral College removes a portion of it that has been in place for some time. Even if states impose fines on faithless electors for their actions, it is not a guarantee that the behavior will stop. In 2016, Gary Johnson received 4.48 million votes and 0 electoral votes, but the potential is always there for this to happen. 4. District-based voting and proportional representation both have their problems, and the National Popular Vote still needs 74 electoral votes to be implemented nationwide. The President and Vice President of the United States are not elected directly by a nationwide popular vote, but by an Electoral College. Another criticism is that the electoral vote system does not penalize a state for low voter turnout or for disenfranchising its citizens (such as convicted felons, or, historically, slaves and women) The state gets the same number of votes regardless of whether voter turnout is 40% or 60%. -, Trump lost the popular vote. So in the political atmosphere that we find ourselves in today, Democrats are at a disadvantage. This means all electors/delegates in a state are awarded to the winner of the popular vote in that state. If an "evil genius" was able to convince the people to vote for their candidacy, it would be up to the individual who comprise the Electoral College to prevent this from happening. Required fields are marked *. That means theres no incentive for candidates to campaign in any noncompetitive state, whether its a populous one like California or the opposite, like North Dakota. When a popular vote is held for a national office, the election becomes more about platform issues than local issues. In an Op-Ed for The New York Times last year, Charlotte Hill and Jacob Grumbach wrote that same-day registration can increase turnout for every age group and especially for younger voters. Email . If theres any argument over the Electoral College that seems to inflame passions on Twitter, its about its bias toward small states. In theory we could change how we elect our president every four years. Consider the Senate, where Wyomings 600,000 residents have the same representative power as Californias 39.5 million. There are 538 total electors in the Electoral College, who are chosen by each state of the United States and by the District of Columbia (but not by other territories like Puerto Rico). The divergence between popular and electoral votes indicates some of the principal advantages and disadvantages of the electoral college . This would be particularly true of the little states that do not have all that many voters in them. The 24 countries that had youth turnout data available were richer, more democratic and more literate than the 168 countries we contacted that didnt. Fewer than half of Americans 18 to 29 voted in the 2016 presidential election a gap of more than 15 points compared with the overall turnout. A financial advisor can help you understand the advantages and disadvantages of investment properties. 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. If the system were changed to a National Popular Vote, campaigns would shift their mobilization strategies accordingly, says Dr. Clawson. 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. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/08/upshot/youth-voting-2020-election.html. Republicans waste no resources campaigning in decidedly blue states like Washington, Oregon and California, while Democrats avoid campaigning in red states like Texas, Georgia and Oklahoma. Politicians dont have to mobilize and pay too much attention to youth, these days, because they know theyre not going to show up much at the polls, right? Professor Leighley said. However, as the Constitution allows states exclusive control over awarding electoral votes, there is another option: The National Popular Vote Interstate Compact. In 2000 and 2016, the candidate who won the popular vote did not win the electoral college. Fifteen states and DC have already enacted it into law, for a total of 196 electoral votes. Our new analysis of turnout for the most recent national general elections for heads of government in two dozen countries revealed that the general populations voting rate exceeds the voting rate for young people in every single one of them. [4], As things stand now, the practical effect of the electoral college is that Republicans have an advantage over Democrats. Expert Answers John Newell, J.D. A Defense of the Electoral College - Homepage | NEH-Edsitement 2. America today is not as divided as it was before the Civil War or after. The Electoral College - Pros and Cons - Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S Should that happen, then the final decision of who gets to serve as President of the United States is taken away from individual voters. In 2016, Florida had 29 electoral votes and 9.4 million voters, created a voter value of 0.72. This is the feature that defines the character of American presidential elections. Instead, research points to interventions on a short, medium and long-term timeline. Experts emphasize that there is no single fix to increase youth turnout. What would boost youth turnout in the United States. Over all, the Electoral Colleges bias toward small states probably cost her a net of four votes essentially nothing. This method has been used in Nebraska since 1996 and in Maine since 1972. However, the wording is vague. No. 7). Log in here. Outgrowing the Electoral College - Purdue Policy - Purdue University That offers the possibility that someone unwilling or unable to hold the office could be elected. Citizens vote for their choice of official for the position being elected. May also have government oversight organizations. Is the gap between young and older voters consistent around the world? Security would be improved across the country. That would give the Compact states only 3 days( and two of those days were weekend days) to certify their state votes. Explain. It would be wrong to assume that Hillary Clinton or Al Gore would have been president had the electoral college been abolished and elections were to be decided by popular vote. It is a fairly persuasive point being addressed in the question. A switch to the popular vote would eliminate the concept of a battleground state because the issue would be more on issues than states. You get all of Michigans electoral votes whether you win by one vote or a million votes. The winner-take-all system has essentially nothing to do with the reasons the founders created the Electoral College, like their concern about investing the masses with the power to pick the president. To pass an amendment to change the Constitution the Founding Fathers wisely required approval by 2/3 of both houses of Congress and 3/4 of the state legislatures instead of a simple majority. The winners would be states like Wyoming (143,000 people per electoral vote) and North Dakota (174,000 people per electoral vote).[3]. That means the cost of counting all the votes would be duplicated. A faithless elector is a member of the Electoral College who does not vote for the presidential or vice-presidential candidate for whom they had pledged to vote. [ 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 ). More people live in urban regions, which means they would have a constant sway over the election. 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. Furthermore, the fact that a candidate who leads in the popular vote would not become the next president seems illegitimate on the face of it, says Dr. McCann. Whats so interesting is that this defining feature is largely unintended. That means the bill needs 74 votes to reach a 270 majority, putting it into effect across the country. To date, this system has allowed five men who lost the popular vote to become president Trump, George W. Bush, Benjamin Harrison, Rutherford B. Hayes, and John Quincy Adams. That means every state is allowed a minimum of 3 electoral votes. Compared to the rest of the world, the US voting system is unique. Cons. The electoral college encourages a two-party system and rewards candidates who have broad appeal. Every state gets only two senators, no matter how populous. Unfortunately, this approach isnt perfect either. Reduces voter participation by creating a "my vote doesn't matter" feeling. Why should the Electoral College be abolished. This divide creates natural divisions between groups of people who both support their country, but in different ways. 7. The Most and Least Popular Governors in America - 24/7 Wall St. They dont outvote their elders anywhere in the world. . Advantages & Disadvantages of a Direct Popular Election. Indeed, Mr. Trump did just as well in his base states call them Appalachafornia as Mrs. Clinton did in California. Here Are the Advantages of the Electoral College 1. If elections were decided by popular vote, campaign strategies would be very different. There is no one thing, said Abby Kiesa, the director of impact for CIRCLE, a research organization focused on youth civic engagement. IRV allows voters to rank the candidates in an election in order of preference, and the candidate with the majority of first-choice votes wins. He covers elections, polling and demographics. With a popular vote in place, each election win would be decreed a mandate to follow the platform of the winning party.
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