The electoral college can show changing opinions towards a candidate that the popular vote cant offer. This might take a few seconds, please wait. Why or why not? Washington: 1969. And in 1888, Benjamin Harrison defeated the incumbent president, Grover Cleveland, in the Electoral College, despite losing the popular vote. Whether electors should be able to change their positions has been heavily debated, so much so that the Supreme Court unanimously ruled in July that states may require electors to abide by their promise to support a specific candidate. Based off this Electoral College system procedure, it leads to many advantages and disadvantages that eventually lead to the winning 270 needed votes. Win popular vote in the state, you get two electoral votes. [ 1] If you already created your netivist account, please log in using the button below. The officials are not bound by law to vote the way the people who elected them want them to vote. A second way in which a minority president 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. This proves that popular vote alone should decide who the president is so that it is fair for both. The Electoral College is defined as a body of people representing the states of the US, who formally cast votes for the election of the president and vice president. Since 1787 the Electoral College has been the system for voting in the United States, but with our nation ever more changing and growing it, Several years after the United States came to be, the Constitutional Convention met to determine how the new nation should govern itself. As for the second issue of the Electoral majority of popular votes may not be the one elected president - depending (as in 1888) on The winner of the states popular vote gets two electoral votes, and one vote is awarded to the winner of the popular vote in each congressional district. Would you like to create a debate and share it with the netivist community? 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. ProCon.org. Press, 1981. The important number is 270. This means that some voters have more power than other, depending on where they live. Additionally, the Electoral College, while intended to protect the vote of each and every person, has more than once resulted in the exact opposite. Make a list and offer support for each reform. Or why not? individual State populations is more important than the opinion of the national population 1. 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. that in very close popular elections, it is possible that the candidate who wins a slight SUPPORTED BY VIEWERS LIKE YOU. If you would not change the voting process, make a list of reforms and why you would not choose to enact them. WebThere can be no doubt that the Electoral College has encouraged and helps to maintain a two party system in the United States. Updated February 08, 2023 Democrats (Re)Take Control of Pennsylvania House. The Electoral College is a body of people who represent the states of the US, who formally cast votes for the electing of the president and vice president. districting and by guaranteeing each State at least one Representative) by changing it to direct popular election, there would be every incentive for a multitude of minor parties Many citizens feel that the Electoral College goes against our nations principle of representative democracy, while others, Every great nation started with a great leader. government. Gallup reports 61 percent of Americans support abolishing the Electoral College in favor of the popular vote. substantial majority of the popular vote, then that candidate is virtually certain to win 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. in the Electoral college. Recently, critics have expressed that this system is not as equal as predetermined. I think it might actually inflame [the issue of polarization]. Every four years, the citizens of the United States of America elect a new president. choices available to the electorate. Analyze and debate the pros and cons of the Electoral College system. After students have completed their handouts, have them debate the pros and cons of the Electoral College. 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. Elections (2nd ed). The Electoral College does have flaws but it may be able to benefit our election system. We will help you do it! distribution of a candidate's popular support should be taken into account alongside the Have your students learn more about the results of one of the following 19th century presidential elections: 1800, 1824, 1836, 1872, 1876, or 1888. drawing the district lines for their House seats. People are rational actors; they are making a calculation if their vote is one of all the citizens in the United States, they may think that the possibility that their vote is going to matter is less. An ever-increasing amount of Americans long for a presidential election to be determined by the popular vote and not the electoral vote. Explain to your students that while in November Americans will cast their ballots for president, there is actually a system called the Electoral College that determines who will win the election. Learn more with this video: After the 2000 election, a majority of Americans favored abolishing the system, and by 2020, that. It was even a talking point among 2020 Democratic presidential candidates. In this process of assimilation, third party movements are This is true simply because it to be a positive virtue. New York: Chelsea House Publishers, 1971. Once more, the United States President and Vice President were elected by an indirect vote system, known as Ellectoral College. Signing onto the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact offers no more security than the current system, which will likely hinder its ability to gain traction. [3] [4] [5] [6], At least 700 amendments have been proposed to modify or abolish the Electoral College. College's role in reinforcing a two party system, proponents, as we shall see, find this For example, the state of Wyoming has a population of 580,000 but holds 3 electoral votes. First, have students meet in small groups to discuss and debate. this century and as recently as 1988 when a Democrat Elector in the State of West Virginia I think it might actually inflame [the issue of polarization]. exacerbate regional differences. The decision on vice president goes to the newly elected Senate, with each senator casting a vote. district system of representation in the Congress) is to virtually force third party Even if they won enough electoral votes Electoral College merely by eliminating the individual Electors in favor of a purely I do not think this system is fair, I think it contradicts the fact that as Americans we are given the freedom to vote, but it seems as though the peoples vote actually doesnt decide much. The Electoral College, Americans have their own opinions on how it is running and how it contributes to the presidential election. fails to accurately reflect the national popular will stems primarily from the Such an organization of social conflict and political One way or another, then, the winning candidate must demonstrate both a absolute majority of popular votes). What relevance do they have today. popular vote popular support. This proves the system is working. mathematical process (since the individual Electors are no longer essential to its support elsewhere would not be reflected. In recent years, there have been two notable elections in which the ultimate victor did not win the popular vote: 2016 and 2000. On Jan. 6, 2021, Congress held a joint session to certify the electoral college votes during which several Republican lawmakers objected to the results and pro-Trump protesters stormed the US Capitol sending Vice President Pence, lawmakers and staff to secure locations. Prevents disputed outcomes ensuring a peaceful transition of power Reduces the costs of national presidential campaigns. If there is a tie vote in a states delegation, the states vote would not count. 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. tends to be more sensitive to ethnic minority and other special interest groups than does 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. forces political coalitions to occur within the political parties rather than within the The same thing happened in 2000. support outweighs whatever sentimental value may attach to obtaining a bare majority of Pros and Cons Although the Electoral College may have been a necessary element of the government when it was originally created, the system has since become impractical for todays society. https://www.nytimes.com/article/the-electoral-college.html. independent candidate were to win the support of even as many as 25% of the voters James Madison stated, There was one difficulty however of a serious nature attending an immediate choice by the people. occasionally come close to this sort of outcome, the question here is whether the 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. Learn more and come to your own conclusion with this PBS NewsHour lesson. People call them faithless electors. In 2016, seven electors 5 Democrats and 2 Republicans broke their promises to vote for their partys nominee, the most ever in history. its failure to accurately reflect the national 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). Proponents further argue that the Electoral electoral votes being the number of its Senators plus the number of its Representatives). Imagine you have been elected to the presidency and have the power to amend this portion of the constitution, which allows for the electoral college. For example, if you have folks in rural areas that now feel likethey have no voice at all. The views expressed here are 5. ], ProCon.org, "The Electoral College Top 3 Pros and Cons,", ProCon.org, "The Electoral College Top 3 Pros and Cons. First, the people would vote for electors, who then would cast an official ballot. This would happen in the extremely unlikely situation where this candidate would win just for one vote in some selected states and zero votes in the rest of the states. The conclusion taken away from this very definition is that the people of the United States are not really the ones responsible for electing the president. sufficient popular support to govern as well as a sufficient distribution of that support If you are new to netivist, please create your account for free and start collecting your netivist points! While Gore won the popular vote by about half a million in 2000, Hillary Clinton won it by nearly three million in 2016. University Press, 1972. To abolish the Electoral College in favor of a nationwide popular election for president taken as a whole. Disadvantages of the National Popular Vote Interstate A total of 538 electoral votes are in play across all 50 states and Washington, D.C. Vote to see result and collect 1 XP. Electoral College, the U.S. House of Representatives would select the president in federal structure, important political powers are reserved to the component States. [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. It is hard to imagine what counter-incentive would be created by eliminating the Electoral Rank choice voting? 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. to force the decision into the U.S. House of Representatives, they would still have to You would imagine [candidates] paying attention to where most people are living, because now thats how theyll get the most votes. Electoral votes are awarded to the candidate who wins the statewide election, or the popular vote for a single state. electoral votes required to elect a president. Many American citizens do not know or do the Electoral College A direct popular election of the president would likely have the opposite effect. Pros and Cons of the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact. Of those visits, nearly two-thirds took place in the four battlegrounds with the most electoral votes Florida, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and North Carolina. [19], Gautam Mukunda, political scientist at Harvard University , explained that states are given electors based on its representation in the House and Senate, so small states get extra votes. The Electoral College Cons It's not always reliable: The votes of elected officials in a representative democracy may not always reflect the will of the people. they point out, president would be selected either through the domination of one populous [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). regardless of its population - over-represents rural populations far more dramatically. The system tends to represent more the diversity of the country. And the American citizens who live in territories like Puerto Rico, Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands are not represented by any electors. the People Vote: Steps in Choosing the President. demolish our federal system of government. http://www.archives.gov/federal_register/electoral_college/electoral_college.html, Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. national popular will in at least two respects. Listen to a Constitution Center podcast exploring the pros and cons of the Electoral College. be elected is if the country were so deeply divided politically that three or more Pennsylvania is tied between Republican and Democratic representatives, and Michigan has seven Democrats, six Republicans and one independent. Its the Electoral College, not the national popular vote, that determines who wins the presidency. FEC National Clearinghouse on Election Administration. 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). Its about one person, one vote everybodys vote counting equally. On Dec. 22, 2016, the results were certified in all 50 states. [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. What did they learn about the American system of electing the president from these elections? going to be for one candidate or the other, an occasional Elector casts a vote for some

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