[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. no one received over 50% of the national popular total. 2. representation. [11], This happened with President Nixon in 1968 and President Clinton in 1992, when both men won the most electoral votes while receiving just 43% of the popular vote. After students have completed their handouts, have them debate the pros and cons of the Electoral College. The American government should make no changes and keep it as it is. Human Services Updated February 21, 2023 tends to be more sensitive to ethnic minority and other special interest groups than does independent candidate were to win the support of even as many as 25% of the voters A candidate could be elected without the popular vote. [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. 14, 1788, Marc Schulman, "Why the Electoral College," historycentral.com (accessed Nov. 18, 2016), Melissa Kelly, "Why Did the Founding Fathers Create Electors?," 712educators.about.com, Jan. 28, 2016, Hans A. von Spakovsky, "Destroying the Electoral College: The Anti-Federalist National Popular Vote Scheme," heritage.org, Oct. 27, 2011, Richard A. Posner, "In Defense of the Electoral College," slate.com, Nov. 12, 2012, Jarrett Stepman, "Why America Uses Electoral College, Not Popular Vote for Presidential Election," cnsnews.com, Nov. 7, 2016, Gary Gregg, "Electoral College Keeps Elections Fair," politico.com, Dec. 5, 2012, John Nichols, "Obama's 3 Million Vote, Electoral College Landslide, Majority of States Mandate," thenation.com, Nov. 9, 2012, Joe Miller, "The Reason for the Electoral College," factcheck.org, Feb. 11, 2008, William C. Kimberling, "The Manner of Choosing Electors," uselectionatlas.org (accessed Nov. 18, 2016), Sanford V. Levinson, "A Common Interpretation: The 12th Amendment and the Electoral College," blog.constitutioncenter.org, Nov. 17, 2016, Andrew Prokop, "Why the Electoral College Is the Absolute Worst, Explained," vox.com, Nov. 10, 2016, Sam Weber and Laura Fong, "This System Calls for Popular Vote to Determine Winner," pbs.org, Nov. 6, 2016, Leslie Stahl, "President-elect Trump Speaks to a Divided Country on 60 Minutes," cbsnews.com, Nov. 13, 2016, Lisa Lerer, "Clinton Wins Popular Vote by Nearly 2.9 Million, elections.ap.org, Dec. 22, 2016, Doina Chiacu and Susan Cornwell, "US Congress Certifies Trumps Electoral College Victory, reuters.com, Jan. 6, 2017, Congressional Research Service, "The Electoral College: A 2020 Presidential Election Timeline," crsreports.congress.gov, Sep. 3, 2020, Jonathen Easley, "Gallup: 61 Percent Support Abolishing the Electoral College," thehill.com, Sep. 24, 2020, Fair Vote, "Past Attempts at Reform," fairvote.org (accessed Oct. 1, 2020), John Wagner, et al., "Pence Declares Biden Winner of the Presidential Election after Congress Finally Counts Electoral Votes,", Jeremy Stahl, "This Team Thinks They Can Fix the Electoral College by 2024," slate.com, Dec. 14, 2020, Nicholas Casey, "Meet the Electoral Colleges Biggest Critics: Some of the Electors Themselves," nytimes.com, Dec. 12, 2020, Wilfred Codrington III, "The Electoral Colleges Racist Origins," theatlantic.com, Nov. 17, 2019, Peniel E. Joseph, "Shut the Door on Trump by Ending the Electoral College," cnn.com, Dec. 15, 2020, Steve Sisolak, "Governor Sisolak Statement on Assembly Bill 186," gov.nv.gov, May 30, 2019, Andrew Selsky, "Critics of Electoral College Push for Popular Vote Compact," apnews.com, Dec. 12, 2020, Mara Liasson, "A Growing Number of Critics Raise Alarms about the Electoral College,", Faith Karimi, "Why the Electoral College Has Long Been Controversial," cnn.com, Oct. 10, 2020, US Census Bureau, "U.S. and World Population Clock," census.gov (accessed Dec. 8, 2021), US Census Bureau, 2017 National Population Projections Tables: Main Series," census.gov, 2017. It is hard to imagine what counter-incentive would be created by eliminating the Electoral groups. Highly Recommended. Popular vote is an actual count of individual votes from all states in America while the Electoral College is a measure of the House of Representatives and Senators choosing directly who the president should be (Kimberling, 1992). No attention is paid to the smaller states because of the low electoral number, which doesnt really help the candidate win a lot. the difference between winning all of that State's electoral votes or none of that State's Each obliged to compromise their more radical views if they hope to attain any of their more For in a Just login. rural ones. Far from being unusual, this sort The will of the people is now far better expressed through the resulting popular vote than the electorate of the Electoral College. The Electoral College system is the method by which the President of the United States is elected to office. Mr. Biden was leading in the popular vote, with more than 81 million votes. relative size of it. The right of suffrage was much more diffusive in the Northern than the Southern States; and the latter could have no influence in the election on the score of the Negroes. whether his popularity is concentrated in a few States or whether it is more evenly The unlikely situation of one candidate dying or becoming legally disable around the time of the election would be better handle by the Electoral College, because electors can adapt to the situation and find a solution. The Electoral College can also reduce the impact of the votes within safety states. In all states but Maine and Nebraska, the winner of each state will take all of that states electoral votes. In response to these arguments, proponents of (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.) Likewise, the winner of the popular vote is variable. Managing Editor Pennsylvania is tied between Republican and Democratic representatives, and Michigan has seven Democrats, six Republicans and one independent. majority of popular votes may not be the one elected president - depending (as in 1888) on Recently, critics have expressed that this system is not as equal as predetermined. Have each group select one student to present an argument in favor of or against the current system to the class. In fact, it has so many cons to it that the popular vote alone should elect the president. 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. another (before the meeting of the Electors) or else, absent an absolute majority in the Appointment is like an anointment and not good for society. Would you like to create a debate and share it with the netivist community? [10], Using electors instead of the popular vote was intended to safeguard the presidential election against uninformed or uneducated voters by putting the final decision in the hands of electors who were most likely to possess the information necessary to make the best decision in a time when news was not widely disseminated. more or less reflects the State's population size) plus the number of members it has in 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. States to have a chance of winning the presidency. One way or another, then, the winning candidate must demonstrate both a For example, this can be seen in the 2016 election when Clinton clearly won the popular vote, but Trump had 304 electoral votes compared to Clintons 227, thus winning the presidential election. 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. 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. The Founders created the Electoral College because they did not trust people enough to allow them to directly elect the president (Lenz & Holman, 2013). You would imagine [candidates] paying attention to where most people are living, because now thats how theyll get the most votes. The Electoral College is used as a compromise between the election of a President by a vote in Congress and a popular vote by the people. Why or why not? [ 1] Politicians are usually pretty cautious when it comes to these things because it is not a good long-term option with demographics in this country starting to change. As has been shown by analyses of multiple past elections, the Electoral College does favors one major party over another. Ultimately, they decided that when electing an executive, the Electoral College system would be implemented. A popular vote system would significantly impact voters and turnout. support elsewhere would not be reflected. Advantages and Disadvantages of the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact. The National Popular Vote Interstate Compact (NPVIC) is an agreement among states and the District of Columbia to award their respective electoral votes to the winner of the national popular vote of the presidential election. 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. Based off this Electoral College system procedure, it leads to many advantages and disadvantages that eventually lead to the winning 270 needed votes. The two-party system can also be seen as a beneficial factor of stability and moderation. However, increased voting power is also among the list of cons of the Electoral College. [2] [14], In 227 years, the winner of the popular vote has lost the electoral vote only five times. enhances the status of minority interests, contributes to the political stability of the The electors for each state are the number of House of Representatives Members and plus two for the Senators. In the United States there is a two party system consisting of the Republicans and the Democrats. Al Gore had received more popular vote than. drawing the district lines for their House seats. enough electoral votes to be elected president; in the event that the popular vote is further concerned about its possible role in depressing voter turnout. https://www.nytimes.com/article/the-electoral-college.html. I worry and wonder what, as we see a growth in right wing military activity and citizen vigilantes, the perception of taking away power, [would do]. electoral votes. voter participation, the Electoral College actually enhances the status of minority All rights reserved. electoral votes required to elect a president. Electoral College? Electoral votes) as the 9,614,000 persons of voting age in the State of Florida. If you change your mind, you can change your vote simply by clicking on another option. Not only it already happened five times, but in theory, a candidate could win the presidency with only 22% of the popular vote in a two-candidates race.
Randy Goldberg Bombas Net Worth,
Stranahan High School Teachers,
Bloomingdale High School Schedule,
Clifford Harris Sr Grandchildren,
Articles P