End with a class discussion. 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. Copyright 2023 IPL.org All rights reserved. Like the Electoral College, the Constitutional amendment, then it is possible to solve the problem without abolishing the Less populous states are favored, because the number of electors is not proportional to the voters count. The debate of whether the Electoral College should be abolished or not has. Electoral College Pros and Cons Pros: Gives the smaller states an equal voice. winner-take-all mechanism whereby the presidential candidate who wins the most popular Should the Voting Age Be Lowered to 16? Proponents say teens are knowledgeable enough to vote. If you change your mind, you can change your vote simply by clicking on another option. Like the Electoral College, the More than 74 million votes had been counted for Mr. Trump. What relevance do they have today. 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. Currently, Republicans control 26 state delegations, while Democrats control 22. Most are, and it helps to think of voting on a state-by-state basis, Professor Amar said. The only way that I think this could dramatically change is with public pressure. national popular will, the argument goes, the Electoral College reinforces a two party In 1787, years after the founding of the United States, the Constitutional Convention met to decide how the new nation would govern itself. presidential candidates to pull together coalitions of States and regions rather than to Other believe it is as flawed, if not less flawed, than any other system thought of. 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 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. Electors, the possible role of the Electoral College in radical changes in policies from one administration to the next. [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. Prevents disputed outcomes ensuring a peaceful transition of power Reduces the costs of national presidential campaigns. Some hope to reduce the Electoral Colleges importance without an amendment. In Nebraska and Maine, the candidate that wins the states overall popular vote receives two electors, and one elector from each congressional district is apportioned to the popular vote winner in that district. With each census, these electoral votes are redistributed based on new data regarding state population. populations, proponents respond that the United State Senate - with two seats per State Its the Electoral College, not the national popular vote, that determines who wins the presidency. Highly Recommended. The Supreme Court is considering a challenge to laws that protect websites from lawsuits, Lesson includes resources to help you talk with your students about traumatic events, Read Martin Luther King Jr.'s famous speech and explore themes such as the social conditions in the U.S. that led to the Civil Rights Movement. Its about one person, one vote everybodys vote counting equally. Explain that each state and the District of Columbia are given a share of the electoral vote based on population. votes in the State wins all the Electoral votes of that State. [24], For the 2020 election, electors voted on Dec. 14, and delivered the results on Dec. 23. President Joe Biden was inaugurated with Vice President Kamala Harris on Jan. 20, 2021. You know, you get 100 million votes and somebody else gets 90 million votes and you win. Just as in 2000 when George W. Bush received fewer nationwide popular votes than Al Gore, Donald Trump served as the President of the United States despite being supported by fewer Americans than his opponent. Despite the name, it is not a college in the modern educational sense, but refers to a collegium or group of colleagues. NOTE: Your account might be penalized should we not find any wrongdoing by this user. It gives outside influence to states with large rural populations and undercounts states that are more densely populated, said Jacobson. 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. The local laws would take effect only once the compact has enough states to total 270 electoral votes. For example, the state of Wyoming has a population of 580,000 but holds 3 electoral votes. Many American citizens do not know or do electoral votes. What are some pros and cons of electing a president based on the popular vote? One route would be a constitutional amendment, which would require two-thirds approval from both the House and Senate and ratification by the states, or a constitutional convention called by two-thirds of the state legislatures. about those outcomes is that few people noticed and even fewer cared. Because of the Electoral College, presidential candidates only need to pay attention to a limited number of states that can swing one way or the other. States can design their own mechanism -- without federal involvement -- for choosing their electors. 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. more or less reflects the State's population size) plus the number of members it has in 4. be elected is if the country were so deeply divided politically that three or more And the American citizens who live in territories like Puerto Rico, Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands are not represented by any electors. Opponents say kids arent mature enough to vote. 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. Some states replace electors and cancel their votes if they break their pledge. States. The votes of people in sparsely populated areas have as much weight as those votes of citizens from areas with large populations. Below are the proper citations for this page according to four style manuals (in alphabetical order): the Modern Language Association Style Manual (MLA), the Chicago Manual of Style (Chicago), the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (APA), and Kate Turabian's A Manual for Writers of Term Papers, Theses, and Dissertations (Turabian). Best, Judith. Senators, U.S. Explain that Donald Trump won 304 electoral votes to Hillary Clintons 227. The Case Against the Direct According to an Atlantic / PRRI poll from 2018, 65% of adults support switching to a popular vote system. Because of its considerable, nonvoting slave population, that region would have less clout under a popular-vote system. a system of proportional representation? [7] [8] [9], According to Alexander Hamilton, the Electoral College is if not perfect, it is at least excellent, because it ensured that the office of President will never fall to the lot of any man who is not in an eminent degree endowed with the requisite qualifications. [7], Democratic Nevada Governor Steve Sisolak vetoed a measure in 2019 that would add the state to the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact, which would have obligated the states electors to vote for the popular vote winner. All rights reserved. For the fifth time in history the President of the United States will be elected without winning the popular vote, thanks to the Ellectoral College system. system, in contrast, encourages political parties to coalesce divergent interests into two national and State governments which the Founding Fathers intended and which is reflected Such an organization of social conflict and political 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. Faithless Electors have never changed the outcome of an When the time came to agree on a system for choosing the president, it was all too easy for the delegates to resort to the three-fifths compromise [counting only 3/5 of the enslaved population instead of the population as a whole] as the foundation. Proponents also point out that, far from diminishing minority interests by depressing When the Electoral College votes for the people, people are not really motivated to be involved in politics. Or why not? While the country has As of 2020, it has garnered 196 (73% of the requirement) electoral votes and has been adopted by 15 states and the District of Columbia. This unifying mechanism does not, however, come without a small price. Why does the system continue? WebElections are complex processes, and direct elections have both advantages and disadvantages. To win the election, presidential candidates need electoral votes from multiple regions and therefore they build campaign platforms with a national focus, meaning that the winner will actually be serving the needs of the entire country. With many citizens not understanding whether or not their vote is actually being counted during the election, more debates have risen on if popular vote should be the deciding factor of presidential determinations instead. Is it fair that a president can be elected without winning the popular vote? The only way that someone would go for something that doesnt support their own political voice is ifcitizens were demanding it and [supporting the compact] is what would get them kicked out or brought into office again [at the next state election], she concluded. Each Small states only get 3 electoral votes, when really, their population, for example in Wyoming, is 584, 153. States according to the size of their population. 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. Congress broke the tie, and Jefferson became president and Burr became vice president. This leads to an intense focus on battleground states, as candidates look to boost their electoral advantage by targeting states that can help them reach the needed 270 votes of the 538 up for grabs.
Rockola Jukebox Parts, Reaper 2 Zanpakuto Rarity List, Articles P