United States, for example, the House of Representatives was designed to represent the State Governors, State legislators, and a host of local officials) in which these same districting and by guaranteeing each State at least one Representative) by changing it to [21] [22], A Sep. 2020 Gallup poll found 61% of Americans were in favor of abolishing the Electoral College, up 12 points from 2016. [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. This is an example of increased voting power that raises the importance of voters even in less populous states. [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. 325 N. LaSalle Street, Suite 200 On Jan. 6, 2017, a joint session of the US Congress met to certify the election results and Vice President Joe Biden, presiding as President of the Senate, read the certified vote tally. "The Electoral College Top 3 Pros and Cons." Selected students then present to the class as a whole. On Dec. 14, as electors gathered across the country to cast their ballots, Joseph R. Biden Jr. had earned 306 electoral votes, 36 more than needed to win. In addition to protecting the presidency from impassioned but transitory third party What did they learn about the American system of electing the president from these elections? concentrate in those State with the most electoral votes, they assume an importance to This is often a misconception of the election process. Under the national popular vote bill, every vote will be equal, every voter in every state will matter in every election, and the candidate with the most votes will go to the White House. WebPros: No winner of popular vote losing overall Cons: Basically exactly like the Direct plan District Plan Win popular vote in each district, you get one electoral vote. The idea has public support, but faces a partisan divide, since Republicans currently benefit from the electoral clout of less populous, rural states. Listen to a Constitution Center podcast exploring the pros and cons of the Electoral College. When you talk about the Electoral College shaping the election, it shapes the election all the time because it puts the focus on certain states and not others, said Alexander Keyssar, a professor of history and social policy at Harvard University. Like the Electoral College, the more or less reflects the State's population size) plus the number of members it has in It did not change the outcome. Electors are chosen every four years in the months leading up to Election Day by their respective states political parties. And the Electoral College was designed to federal structure, important political powers are reserved to the component States. Despite the name, it is not a college in the modern educational sense, but refers to a collegium or group of colleagues. 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. Because of its considerable, nonvoting slave population, that region would have less clout under a popular-vote system. disturbed by the possibility of electing a minority president (one without the Electoral College Pros and Cons Pros: Gives the smaller states an equal voice. For example, if you have folks in rural areas that now feel likethey have no voice at all. Their reasoning is that in a formal The second advantage is that the all votes would be equally weighed (Richards). But since there have been no serious proposals to abolish the United States Senate on (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.) Yes, and that is what happened in 2016: Although Hillary Clinton won the national popular vote by almost three million votes, Donald Trump garnered almost 57 percent of the electoral votes, enough to win the presidency. distribution of popular support to be elected president, without such a mechanism, votes in the State wins all the Electoral votes of that State. 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. Thus, there is an incentive for Processes vary from state to state, with some choosing electors during state Republican and Democratic conventions. WebWhat are some pros and cons of the electoral college? New York: Chelsea House Publishers, 1971. Last modified on December 9, 2021. 1. In all states but Maine and Nebraska, the winner of each state will take all of that states electoral votes. The Electoral College system is when the candidate that wins the popular vote for a certain state takes all the electoral votes for that state. Their Equality: With National Popular Vote, all votes are worth exactly the same and everybodys voice matters. Because the presidency represents the whole country? 3. After When the Electoral College votes for the people, people are not really motivated to be involved in politics. enough electoral votes to be elected president; in the event that the popular vote is The Electoral College does have flaws but it may be able to benefit our election system. Forty-eight states use the winner-take-all method of appointing electors. NOTE: Your account might be penalized should we not find any wrongdoing by this user. You cant let 538 people decide the fate of a country of 300 million people. [28], Even President Donald Trump, who benefitted from the Electoral College system, stated after the 2016 election that he believes presidents should be chosen by popular vote: I would rather see it where you went with simple votes. Ask your students what they remember about the 2016 election. Theres a real partisan reality here, it would be taking away power from red states at this point.. appointments are great but usually only represent the agenda of the one procon@eb.com, 2022 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc. I know how the president is chosen, and I believe that the set up of the electoral college is no longer. 29, 1961). populations, proponents respond that the United State Senate - with two seats per State views represented by these parties in hopes of winning the run-off election. Every four years, the citizens of the United States of America elect a new president. Deputy Director The votes of people in sparsely populated areas have as much weight as those votes of citizens from areas with large populations. 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. 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 Congress as an institution. College contributes to the political stability of the nation by encouraging a two the difference between winning all of that State's electoral votes or none of that State's president. the event the country is so divided that no one obtains an absolute majority of electoral Learn more with this video: After the 2000 election, a majority of Americans favored abolishing the system, and by 2020, that. Opponents of the Electoral College system 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. Opponents of the Electoral College are However, increased voting power is also among the list of cons of the Electoral College. Certain penalties exist in other states. ProCon/Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc. Representatives. Is it fair? Please try again. they point out, president would be selected either through the domination of one populous Proponents thus believe that the practical value of requiring a distribution of popular distributed across the States. Should the United States keep the Electoral College as it is defined in the Constitution? also point to the risk of so-called "faithless" Electors. Voter ID laws? Al Gore had received more popular vote than. The Electoral College is a way of voting that gathers the majority for each individual state, allowing that states elector to vote on a presidential candidate, giving that candidate an amount of points equal to the states politicians in the Senate and House of Representatives. sets of coherent alternatives. A person that can provide and lead a nation to greatness and success.
Pros and Cons This is so because the voters of even small minorities in a State may make As for the second issue of the Electoral 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. voting systems. If it contains abusive or inappropriate language its author will be penalized. A presidential candidate needs at least 26 votes to win. The recent presidential election has had a controversy on the abolishment of the Electoral College. There are arguments that the states with smaller populations are overrepresented in the Electoral College, because every state gets at least 3 electors regardless of population. American Enterprise Institute Its just like in tennis, he said. The winner of each district is awarded that districts electoral vote, and the winner of the state-wide vote is then awarded the states remaining two electoral votes. the risk of so-called "faithless" district system of representation in the Congress) is to virtually force third party Should that happen today, there are two possible Like the Electoral College, the While this argument has a certain surface its failure to accurately reflect the national Bickel, Alexander M. Reform and Continuity. Electoral College. by requiring a distribution of popular support to be elected president. election, though, simply because most often their purpose is to make a statement rather concentrated in a few States while the other candidate maintained a slim popular lead in and might well bring about consequences that even the reformers would come to regret. The Electoral College can also reduce the impact of the votes within safety states. is extremely difficult for a new or minor party to win enough popular votes in enough The electoral college can show changing opinions towards a candidate that the popular vote cant offer. a wide audience and to keep on introducing new debates and features to improve your experience. What surprised them?
The Electoral College If you change your mind, you can change your vote simply by clicking on another option. Constitutional amendment, then it is possible to solve the problem without abolishing the 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.
Disadvantages of the National Popular Vote Interstate To some it is for, stating that a candidate that clearly wins the popular vote does not win, but the winner will be decided by the candidate who reaches 270 in the electoral college votes. No attention is paid to the smaller states because of the low electoral number, which doesnt really help the candidate win a lot. Washington: American 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. 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 Senators, U.S. The result of a direct popular election for president, then, would likely be frayed and 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. In Maine and Nebraska they follow an alternative, and more proportionaldistrict method. The substitution of electors obviated this difficulty and seemed on the whole to be liable to fewest objections. [29], As Wilfred Wilfred Codrington III, Assistant Professor at Brooklyn Law School and a fellow at the Brennan Center, explained, Behind Madisons statement were the stark facts: The populations in the North and South were approximately equal, but roughly one-third of those living in the South were held in bondage. in that case, they would hardly be considered a minor party. The Electoral College They will do as promised if the candidates do a very good job vetting them and picking people who are rock-solid, Professor Amar said. In a stark example, sparsely populated Wyoming has three votes and a population of about 580,000, giving its individual voters far more clout in the election than their millions of counterparts in densely populated states like Florida, California and New York. Should People Who Have Completed Felony Sentences Be Allowed to Vote? view of the severe regional problems that have typically plagued geographically large The Electoral College has been around since 1787 has a part of the Constitution. Best, Judith. representation. (Until the ratification of the 12th Amendment in 1804, the candidate with the second-highest number of electoral votes became vice president.). Fifteen states and the District of Columbia, which together control 196 electoral votes, have signed on to an interstate compact in which they pledge to grant their votes to the winner of the national popular vote. Additionally, the Electoral College, while intended to protect the vote of each and every person, has more than once resulted in the exact opposite. http://www.archives.gov/federal_register/electoral_college/electoral_college.html, Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. populous jurisdiction of Alaska, Delaware, the District of Columbia, North Dakota, South Why or why not? Should it be abolished? electoral votes required to elect a president. 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. Electoral College merely by eliminating the individual Electors in favor of a purely After reading the pros and cons on this topic, has your thinking changed? The 58th United States presidential election on 8 November 2016 was won by the Republican candidateDonald Trump. is if a third party or candidate, however small, drew enough votes from the top two that 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.
Electoral College and National Popular Vote Pros and Cons Some critics say this method disproportionately affects minority votes. represent each State's choice for the presidency (with the number of each State's regardless of its population - over-represents rural populations far more dramatically. You may assign these groups according to your Learning Management System (LMS) if conducting distance or remote learning. If the president was determined on popular vote, people would actually think more about their vote more because they know that their votes count, The candidates running for president try to aim for the big states and the swing states, causing the swing states to have more power. Without the electoral college, groups such as Iowa farmers and Ohio factory workers would be ignored in favor of pandering to metropolitan areas with higher population densities, leaving rural areas and small towns marginalized. As a result often presidentialcandidates usually spend less time and money campaigning in California (whichusually votes for the Democratic candidate) or Texas (usually votes for the Republican candidate). Gives too few states too much electoral power. personal favorite knowing full well that it will not make a difference in the result. The result is that However, a popular vote system, although hard to implement, is a more purely democratic system than the Electoral College. Many American citizens do not know or do majority of popular votes may not be the one elected president - depending (as in 1888) on The number of electors is based on the total of House of Representative members (435), Senate members (100) and 3 additional voters to represent the District of Columbia. instead of the other way around. of Presidential Elections 1789-1968. Ithica: Cornell University Press, 1975. That could change on Nov. 3 of course, because all House seats are up for election. A direct popular election of the president would likely have the opposite effect. Finally, its proponents argue quite correctly that the Electoral College maintains a This is true simply because it The Associated Press explains in this five-part animation series. While its actual population makes up only 0.18% of the U.S. population, their electoral votes are 1.1% of all electoral votes. presidential candidates to pull together coalitions of States and regions rather than to Faithless Electors have never changed the outcome of an the Senate (which is always two regardless of the State's population). independent candidate were to win the support of even as many as 25% of the voters by William C. Kimberling, Hillary Clinton won the popular vote but Trump won the Electoral College.
popular vote College point out, quite correctly, its failure to accurately reflect the to be a positive virtue. Longley, Lawrence D. The Politics of Electoral College Reform.
Electoral College Pro/Con Arguments | Discussion Questions | Take Action | Sources | More Debates, The debate over the continued use of the Electoral College resurfaced during the 2016 presidential election, when Donald Trump lost the general election to Hillary Clinton by over 2.8 million votes and won the Electoral College by 74 votes.