But we're closer to that than you might think 15 states and the District of Columbia have already signed on, providing 196 electoral votes of the needed 270. what connection type is known as "always on"? Many of these states dont participate in campaign visits or get televised ads. According to the Constitution, the Electoral College is a compromise between election of the President by a vote in Congress and election of the President by a popular vote of qualified citizens (National Archives). In theory we could change how we elect our president every four years. Common Cause Maine and Nebraska are the only two states that are not affected by this approach. There are pros and cons to both systems. The cost of a presidential election in the United States is already several billion dollars. That would increase the amount of polarization being experienced in politics today because there would be less of a need to compromise. Similarly, because a national campaign mandates a national message, there would also be a smaller incentive for coalition-building or taking into account the characteristics, needs and desires of citizens in differing states and regions. Under the electoral college system, if a state consistently pulls as leaning to one party, someone who supports the other party may not vote because they feel like there isnt a need to do so. The selection of presidential electors is specifically entrusted to the states by the Constitution. Proportional Plan A candidate could be elected without the popular vote. This has occurred in 5 of the nation's 56 presidential elections, most recently in 2016. As with other powers entrusted to the states, it is an application, not a circumvention, of the Constitution when the states utilize those powers as they see fit. People are moving to live in like-minded communities more than ever before. The Electoral College is made up of 538 electors and a majority of 270 electoral votes is mandatory to nominate the President. District Plan CONS Technically still possible, but A LOT hard to do so District 1 = Romney 57% District 2 = Romney 52% District 3 = Romney 70% Gerrymandering. 1. One of the biggest reasons why voters dont vote is because they feel like their vote doesnt count. A candidate can win the popular vote in enough states to win a majority of electoral votes but still lose the popular vote nationally. NPV supporters claim, accurately, that a direct election for president would reduce or eliminate the possibility that a fringe candidate (like a Ralph Nader or Ron Paul) winning five percent or less of the vote in a single state could serve to defeat a major party candidate from the same side of the political spectrum. For the 7 presidential elections between 1992-2016, the Republican candidate has won the Electoral college 3 times. By entering your email and clicking Sign Up, you're agreeing to let us send you customized marketing messages about us and our advertising partners. Under the current structure of presidential elections in the U.S., the states become a battleground of red states vs. blue states. In 6 Elections, 2 Near-Misses (2020, 2004) and 2 Second-Place Presidents (2016, 2000) National Popular Vote Has Been Enacted into Law in 16 Jurisdictions with 195 Electoral Votes. In 2016, Gary Johnson received 4.48 million votes and 0 electoral votes, but the potential is always there for this to happen. But in practice it could happen every 10 or 20 years when the Electoral College votes change because the congressional boundaries change with the new population census. Note: Today we are in a phase where the popular vote in presidential elections leans Democratic. Less would get done, which would affect the needs of households at the local level. Under the electoral college system of voting, the number of representatives a state has in Congress (Senators and Representatives) is the total number of electoral votes it is allowed. Watch out! That nightmare may seem like a pleasant dream if NPV has its way. Richards earned a master's degree at Carnegie Mellon University. Resource allocation would be focused on paid advertising, which would negate the need for grassroots activities. (LogOut/ 5. amazon web services address herndon va custom airbrush spray tan near me custom airbrush spray tan near me 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. Imagine a scenario where a presidential candidate focuses on Los Angeles, New York City, Portland, OR and Seattle. To date, the bill has passed at least one legislative chamber in 9 states possessing 82 combined electoral votes: AR, AZ, ME, MI, MN, NC, NV, OK, and OR. All other votes cast for that candidate are therefore superfluous. Robert Longley is a U.S. government and history expert with over 30 years of experience in municipal government and urban planning. Past Event: The League of Women Voters of Berrien and Cass Counties has announced plans to broadcast a webinar discussing the National Popular Vote (NPV) on Monday, Feb. 27 at 7:00 p.m. National Popular Vote has been leading the campaign to fix the electoral college and elect the president by national popular vote since its founding in 2006 . 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. After all, the Electoral College makes it possible that a candidate who wins the majority of the votes could still lose the election. You can use essay samples to find ideas and inspiration for your paper. Longley, Robert. Our state will likely vote overwhelmingly for the Republican challenger to Barack Obama in November. The use of the Electoral College has been the only approach the U.S. has used to gain a President, but this way has generated numerous issues. It is our national motto and is so for a reason. During a popular vote, a candidate who withdraws from the race or dies before the election can be held could still be on the ballot. Electing a president who did not have broad regional support could lead to a fractured and less cohesive country, according to the Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections. This brings us to 196 of the 270 (73%) electoral votes needed to activate the pact just 74 votes away. Electoral college reform proposals include (1) the district plan, awarding each state's two at-large electoral votes to the statewide popular vote winners, and one electoral vote to the winning candidates in each congressional district; (2) the proportional plan, awarding electoral votes in states in direct proportion to the popular vote gained The years-old effort is slowly making its way through state legislatures in hopes of changing the way Wyoming had just 3 electoral votes, but only had 255,000 voters as well. A direct popular election would make it more possible for third-party candidates to succeed and would also encourage political parties to become more radical and extreme. Opines that the national popular vote plan is the wrong way to abolith the electoral college. This was the intent of the Founding Fathers. It has also happened four times out of the 56 presidential elections. Is the National Popular Vote Plan Constitutional? Unexpected emergencies would be difficult to handle. But don't forget, Bush won the popular vote four years later by three million votes. Privacy Policy. If this happens many people in the red states will not feel that the change is legitimate even if its legal and technically constitutional. But with the NPV Compact a change in party control of just one or two states could restore the old system of electing the president and then four years later it could be changed back. 9. In 2016, Florida had 29 electoral votes and 9.4 million voters, created a voter value of 0.72. Some critics argue that more people would vote in a direct popular election, according to the University of the Pacific. Samploon is a database of free essay samples. Definition and Examples, Learn How Many Total Electoral Votes There Are. But NPV could force our electors to disregard the wishes of the . The National Popular Vote Interstate Compact (NPVIC) is an agreement among a group of U.S. states and the District of Columbia to award all their electoral votes to whichever presidential ticket wins the overall popular vote in the 50 states and the District of Columbia. Now, the states are considering the National Popular Vote plan, a system that, while not doing away with the Electoral College system, would modify it to ensure that the candidate winning the national popular vote is ultimately elected president. If a popular vote were allowed to declare a winner instead, it wouldnt be through a state-by-state counting of electoral votes. Get breaking news and updates from Common Cause. In contrast, other issues related to the federal government are not exclusively entrusted to the states, and therefore the states lack the power to alter them. But the biggest problem with changing how we elect our president using the NPV Compact is that its too easy to change it back. And thats not how it should be in a democracy. Although this may limit the amount of diversity that occurs in office, and may generate extra financial costs, the argument could be made that these risks outweigh the results of an election where a majority of states, not a majority of people, put someone into office. However that presumably rare exception happened in the 2000 election when Florida could not complete their statewide recount in time for the Electoral College deadline and the Supreme Court forced Florida to use their first vote count without a statewide recount. Before the 2016 election, the largest vote deficit in the popular vote was Al Gore securing over 500,000 votes more than George W. Bush. The itineraries of presidential candidates in battleground states (and their allocation of other campaign resources) demonstrate what every gubernatorial or senatorial candidate in every state already knows namely that when every vote matters, the campaign must be run in every part of the state. It gives each vote an equal amount of power. Secondly, it creates a minimalist depiction in the minds of the candidate towards more than 40 states. The Electoral College was established in the Constitution to protect minority interests and mitigate the possibility of a regional candidate. Under the Electoral College system, voters in states that are overwhelmingly in support of one candidate might feel like their vote is unimportant. Moving to the popular vote structure would eliminate this potential issue. If you need to flag this entry as abusive. cons of the national popular vote plan. But if some non-member 2. 4. I will explain that in another blog post. 3. How Many Electoral Votes Does a Candidate Need to Win? If the National Popular Vote bill was secured within the American government, it would protect every vote and would allow those votes to equally matter in the presidential election. And in all states but Maine and Nebraska, the candidate who receives the most votes in that state is awarded all of its electoral votes, whether the split is 51% to 49% or 99% to 1%. Web. It would eliminate the threat of a faithless elector. Bosque de Palabras Because of the winner-take-all rule, a candidate can be elected president without winning the most popular votes nationwide. When you cast your ballot, you're not actually voting directly for your favored presidential candidate. This divide creates natural divisions between groups of people who both support their country, but in different ways. June 7, 2022 . Instead, it modifies the winner-take-all rule in a way its supporters say would assure that every vote will matter in every state in every presidential election. The votes of those who do not live in closely divided battleground states effectively count less. It understands that while the nation is one union, it is also an amalgam of varying experiences and perspectives arrived at via the settings and unique problems surrounding those who live in different places, and that these differences fall within the broad rubric of federalism. In theory that could happen every four years. This text is available online and is used for gudiance and inspiration, We use cookies to give you the best experience possible. The NPVC is a proposed interstate compact in which the signatory states agree that they will appoint their presidential electors in accordance with the national popular vote rather than their own state electorate's vote. Because there was a difference of less than 1,000 tabulated votes between George W. Bush and Al Gore in one state, Florida, the nation watched as 6 million votes were recounted by machine, several hundred thousand were recounted by hand in counties with differing recount standards, partisan litigators fought each other in state and federal courts, the secretary of state backed by the majority of state legislators (all Republicans) warred with the state's majority Democratic judiciary -- until 37 days after the election the U.S. Supreme Court, in a bitterly controversial 5-4 decision effectively declared Bush the winner. The compact is designed to ensure that the candidate who receives the most votes nationwide is elected president, and it . The framers enacted the provisions relating to the Electoral College to allow for state innovation. The National Popular Vote plan would eliminate what critics of the Electoral College system point to as the "winner-take-all" rule - the awarding all of a state's electoral votes to the candidate who receives the most popular votes in that state. 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). 5. Due to some states being heavily populated in comparison to others, that may help a candidate quickly obtain a win. The election is held every four years on the first Tuesday in November and prior to election day, the two candidates endure state-level primaries, caucuses, debates, and conventions. On April 15, 2014 Governor Andrew Cuomo of New York State quietly signed into law the National Popular Vote, making New York the 10th state -- along with the District of Columbia -- to support this effort, while also boosting the total numbers to 165 of the 270 electoral votes needed to make a true national popular vote a reality. Instead, each state and Washington D.C. is assigned a certain number of electoral votes based on its population. Advantages and Disadvantages of the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact 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. In the 2020 election California did not certify their votes until Friday, December 11, only 3 days before the Electoral College met on Monday, December, 14. An individuals vote doesnt make a difference when it is counted against the votes of the delegates in the House of Representatives and Senate. tobin james the blend 2017 ; real estate marketing solutions; cons of the national popular vote plan; lassi kefalonia shops cons of the national popular vote plan After all, is said and done, the candidate who attains the largest number of votes can still lose. A plan to enact the National Popular Vote was introduced in the Michigan Legislature on Wednesday. Pros & Cons of a National Popular Vote Buy Complete Issue $19.95 Login or Subscribe The National Popular Vote How would the interstate compact work? 1, 2023 at 1:16 PM PST. It was a great idea in 1787 but the country has changed since 1787 and the people today want to elect the president by a simple, direct popular vote where whoever gets the most votes wins like we do in every other election in the country. Over the long run the countrys popular vote in presidential elections has roughly been equally split between Republican and Democratic.*. cons of the national popular vote plansuper lemon haze greenhouse. Surprisingly enough, the National Popular Vote bill could possibly bring forth some problems. The Electoral College system - the way we really elect our president - has always had its detractors and lost even more public support after the 2016 election, when it became apparent that President-ElectDonald Trump might have lost the nationwide popular vote to Sec.