The National Popular Vote Bill is a bill for Americans interested in both preserving our Electoral College and reforming the shortcomings of our current "winner-take-all" system that awards all the electors of one state to the candidate who wins in that particular state and . Contributors control their own work and posted freely to our site. 13 Early College High School Pros and Cons, 18 Major Advantages and Disadvantages of the Payback Period, 20 Advantages and Disadvantages of Leasing a Car, 19 Advantages and Disadvantages of Debt Financing, 24 Key Advantages and Disadvantages of a C Corporation, 16 Biggest Advantages and Disadvantages of Mediation, 18 Advantages and Disadvantages of a Gated Community, 17 Big Advantages and Disadvantages of Focus Groups, 17 Key Advantages and Disadvantages of Corporate Bonds, 19 Major Advantages and Disadvantages of Annuities, 17 Biggest Advantages and Disadvantages of Advertising. Longley, Robert. A popular vote election takes all ballots that are cast, counts them, and declares the winner based on who received the most votes. The senators in the U.S. Senate make up two votes in addition to the votes that represent the number of its members in the U.S. House of Representatives (Archives). Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in: You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. 7. The United States has a representative democracy rather than a direct democracy: Citizens elect representatives rather than voting on each bill. It happened once, in 1876. Many cities and school districts, under threat of a lawsuit by a Malibu attorney, have already adopted or are in the process of changing to district elections rather than remaining citywide or . 5. This move would ensure that the Presidency would be given to the candidate that received the most popular votes all 50 states and the District of Columbia. It would reduce the influence of third parties on the U.S. presidential election. Even if states impose fines on faithless electors for their actions, it is not a guarantee that the behavior will stop. According to the University of Missouri-Kansas City Law School, some proponents of the Electoral College argue that it isolates election problems, such as illegally extended voting hours or irregularly high voter turnout. Each vote would affect each candidate instead of being overlooked due to which state those votes would be coming from. The National Popular Vote (NPV) refers to the concept of allocating a state's presidential electors to the candidate who receives the most votes nationwide regardless of the state results in a presidential election. The Electoral College was established in the Constitution to protect minority interests and mitigate the possibility of a regional candidate. Washington, DC 20005, Common Cause pays tribute to our leader, our friend, and a lifelong advocate for our democracy, Constitution, Courts & Other Democracy Issues, Ensure Fair Districts & Reflective Democracy, Expand Voting Rights & Election Integrity, Promote Free Speech & Accountability in Media, Protect the Constitution, Courts & Other Democracy Reforms. National Popular Vote compact pros and cons. NCSL's experts are here to answer your questions and give you unbiased, comprehensive information as soon as you need it on issues facing state legislatures. Their answer is simple: one in which every citizen's vote is equal to every other citizen's vote and one in which the winner of the presidential popular vote, no matter how small his or her percentage is of those who voted, would be elected. There are a number of pros for this method. Even the minority party wouldnt be encouraged to negotiate because they could simply stall until the next election. cons of the national popular vote plan. Thats the way it has been in this country for a long time. Because of the Winner-Take-All state laws candidates for president only campaign and spend their money in 12-13 swing states because voters in those few swing states determine who wins the election and presidential candidates totally ignore voters in the rest of the country(except to raise money). The alternative view of democracy is more complex; it is one that includes but is not limited to the pursuit of equality. Lincoln Chafee (D) made his state the latest to sign on. 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. Web. She graduated magna cum laude from Brandeis University with bachelor's degrees in creative writing, English/American literature and international studies. NPV is more than a third of the way to its goal. We have seen this outcome in the 2016 Presidential election between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump and in the 2000 election between George H.W. That would increase the amount of polarization being experienced in politics today because there would be less of a need to compromise. Common Cause The National Popular Vote Interstate Compact is an agreement where states in the compact award all their electoral votes to the winner of the . Learn more about how the National Popular Vote compact works and the ways it could make our elections better for everyone. That created a voter value of 2.85. (LogOut/ That structure makes it easier for extremist views to find official representation. But sometime in the future the popular vote will change back and lean Republican. sale of united methodist church property. The second advantage is that the all votes would be equally weighed (Richards). The popular vote eliminates this issue too. Probably the NPV Compact would be enacted into law with as little as a simple majority of the states and possibly even less. On average, studies show that falls in line with historical averages showing around 60 percent of eligible voters casting a vote in presidential election years. Under the electoral college system (and other voting systems not based on popular voting), it only takes one extra vote more than the other candidate to create the needed results for the election. In theory that could happen every four years. Explains kimberling, william c., and dave leip's . If the presidential election were switched to the popular vote, then it would only take about 35% of the vote for a candidate to win. If a party knows either that it can't win a single elector in a state or has an easy road to winning all of them, it sends its resources to where it has a competitive chance.. All other votes cast for that candidate are therefore superfluous. Over the long run the countrys popular vote in presidential elections has roughly been equally split between Republican and Democratic.*. People are moving to live in like-minded communities more than ever before. It would eliminate the Congressional provisions for a non-majority election. The President-Elect takes the oath of office and is sworn in as President of the United States on January 20th in the year following the Presidential election (Archives). I fear that most, if not all, of the states signing onto the NPV Compact will be just blue states. The National Popular Vote stems from the winner-take-all approach that validates the presidential candidate interactions with only 4 out of 50 dates during their campaign. As of July 2020, a National Popular Vote bill has been signed into law in 16 states controlling a total of 196 electoral votes, including 4 small states, 8 medium-sized states, 3 big states (California, Illinois, and New York), and the District of Columbia. 8. That means the cost of counting all the votes would be duplicated. For example: States already have the power to award their electors to the winner of the national popular vote, although this would be disadvantageous to the state that did so unless it was joined simultaneously by other states that represent a majority of electoral votes. The National Popular Vote plan is a bill passed by participating state legislatures agreeing that they will cast all of their electoral votes for the presidential candidate winning the nationwide popular vote. 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. Proponents of the National Popular Vote fail to understand the most basic facts about the American presidential electoral system. After all, the Electoral College makes it possible that a candidate who wins the majority of the votes could still lose the election. As of December 2020, the National Popular Vote bill has been adopted by 15 states and the District of Columbia, controlling 196 electoral votes: CA, CO, CT, DC, DE, HI, IL, MA, MD, NJ, NM, NY, OR, RI, VT, and WA. But the biggest problem with changing how we elect our president using the NPV Compact is that its too easy to change it back. Con:not Eliminate possibility that loser of the popular vote can still win the electoral vote The Proportional Plan A proposed reform where each presidential candidate would receive the percent of electoral votes that they win from each state Proportional Plan Pro:Possible for loser of popular vote to win presidency. what connection type is known as "always on"? Some critics argue that more people would vote in a direct popular election, according to the University of the Pacific. Would you like to get a custom essay? It awards all the bonus votes to the winner of the popular vote. PBS: What does voter turnout tell us about the 2016 election. "The National Popular Vote Plan." Copyright 2023 Leaf Group Ltd. / Leaf Group Education, Explore state by state cost analysis of US colleges in an interactive article, Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections: The Electoral College, University of the Pacific: Electoral College Reform, University of Missouri-Kansas City Law School: The Electoral College. National Popular Vote proponents argue that the United States has had four presidential elections in which the plurality winner of the popular vote was not chosen as president. More attention is given to the swing states, such as Florida and Iowa, which causes the third problem the Electoral College can cause. 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. Most recently, the bill was passed by a bipartisan 4016 vote in the Republican-controlled Arizona House, 2818 in Republican-controlled Oklahoma Senate, 574 in Republican-controlled New York Senate, and 3721 in Democratic-controlled Oregon House." ThoughtCo. 3. Due to some states being heavily populated in comparison to others, that may help a candidate quickly obtain a win. For more information, please see our 4. Mayors, governors, and senators are all elected by a simple majority. If enacted by enough states, the National Popular Vote bill would guarantee the presidency to the candidate who receives the most popular votes in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. It isnt impossible to pass a Constitutional amendment, though history shows that it is not an easy process to complete. A candidate may not have to concentrate anymore, but they may have to move their attention to states such as Texas, New York, California, and Alaska. 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. Rebekah Richards is a professional writer with work published in the "Atlanta Journal-Constitution," "Brandeis University Law Journal" and online at tolerance.org. Lawmakers discuss plan to enact National Popular Vote in Michigan. Yet, by May 2021, 15 states and Washington, D.C., had signed onto the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact. For the popular vote, however, Hillary Clinton received 65.8 million votes, while Donald Trump received 62.9 million votes. As of now, 15 states and Washington, D.C. have joined the National Popular Vote compact: Connecticut, Rhode Island, Vermont, Hawaii, Massachusetts, Maryland, Washington, New Jersey, Illinois, New York, California, Colorado, New Mexico, Delaware and Oregon. It would reduce the threshold necessary to win the office. 9. If this happens many people in the red states will not feel that the change is legitimate even if its legal and technically constitutional. Robert Longley is a U.S. government and history expert with over 30 years of experience in municipal government and urban planning. Secondly, it creates a minimalist depiction in the minds of the candidate towards more than 40 states. mike matarazzo last photo. OKLAHOMA CITY Oklahomans will head to the polls March 7 to decide if the state will become the 22nd in the country to legalize recreational marijuana for use by anyone 21 and older. 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. Definition and Examples, How Political Party Convention Delegates are Chosen, What Is a Caucus? This blog post is a joint effort with Leslie Francis, former executive director of the Democratic National Committee and Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. As a result, the bill will take effect when enacted by states possessing an additional 74 electoral votes. There would be a reduced need to build coalitions. But if we set politics aside and focus on what is really best for democracy in our country in the long run I believe that the advantages of using the NPV compact to elect our president outweigh the disadvantages and the best way to elect our president in the 21st century is by direct popular vote using Ranked Choice Voting. Or states might explore what was recently proposed in Colorado -- that electors be allocated in proportion to each candidate's share of the popular vote above a certain threshold. Currently, the National Popular Vote bill has 172 electoral votes. It fails to reach the ideal of one-person one-vote. During the 2012 elections, 38 states, also known as spectator states, were ignored and forgotten. "The National Popular Vote Plan." 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. That is hardly a mandate for governing, though it would be taken as such. However, in the popular vote, Trump only received 62,984,825 votes against Hillary Clinton's 65,853,516 popular votes. The National Popular Vote Bill is not a Democrat or Republican bill. Every state is allocated several votes according to the number of senators and representatives in its U.S. Congressional delegation. Would it aid a fight to eliminate first past the post or would it further entrench the established party system voters American voters have expressed disdain for. A Critique of the National Popular Vote October 13, 2008 Policy Analysis No. That's almost 1.5 billion . 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. If the election is based off a popular vote, each of these areas would need to be closely examined in real-time, which would enhance the security of each vote that is cast. Under the Electoral College system, voters in states that are overwhelmingly in support of one candidate might feel like their vote is unimportant. That principle should be expanded to presidential elections. But NPV could force our electors to disregard the wishes of the . 2. The cost of a presidential election in the United States is already several billion dollars. Under the National Popular Vote plan,the compact would take effect only when enabling legislation has been enacted by states collectively possessing a majority of the electoral votes:270 of 538 total. You are also agreeing to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. evergreen funeral home live stream. Although it is sometimes conjectured that a national popular election would focus only on big cities, it is clear that this would not be the case. 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. 2. How the National Popular Vote Plan Would Work. Without any sort of broad support, the politics of the country could become even more fractured than they already are. The Electoral College system, however imperfect, serves this broader view of democracy. The electoral college leads to a heavy emphasis on swing states and also typically over-represents citizens in rural states. If the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact becomes law it would be an excellent first step to help get a future amendment to the Constitution to replace the Electoral College/Winner-Take-All system to elect the president with a national popular vote using Ranked Choice Voting. Advantages of the NPV Interstate Compact 1. 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. 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. 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. 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. Longley, Robert. 1. With a popular vote in place, each election win would be decreed a mandate to follow the platform of the winning party. The cost of a presidential election in the United States is already several billion dollars. Though the original, some would say highly undemocratic, purpose. . Home| Government| Elections| Electoral College| Electoral College Pros And Cons. Cookie Notice How the US Electoral College System Works, Biography of Donald Trump, 45th President of the United States, What Is Statutory Law? a plan for a national popular vote could undermine the . There are pros and cons to both systems. In states with large population centers, individual voters have less power than voters in smaller states. It has been enacted into law in 11 states with 165 electoral votes, and will take effect when enacted by states with 105 more. [Add switching votes of losing party to the other partys voter totals in every state using the Electoral College/Winner-Take-All system (except for 5 EC votes in Maine and Nebraska that are awarded proportionally instead of by Winner-Take-All.]. Ken Bickers. In 2016, Florida had 29 electoral votes and 9.4 million voters, created a voter value of 0.72. The Constitution specifically leaves details like how the electoral votes are cast up to the states. Under the current structure of the electoral college, the focus of a presidential campaign is on the so-called battleground states. If a popular vote were allowed to declare a winner instead, it wouldnt be through a state-by-state counting of electoral votes. However, Hilary Clinton won 2.6 million more popular votes nationwide than Donald Trump. 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. Once enacted, the participating states would cast all of their electoral votes for the presidential candidate winning the nationwide popular vote, thus ensuring that candidate the required 270 electoral votes. cons of the national popular vote plansuper lemon haze greenhouse. List of the Cons of Proportional Representation. This has occurred in only four of the 58 presidential . In the case of a tie, there are contingencies in place to determine which person will serve in the elected office. Opines that the national popular vote plan is the wrong way to abolith the electoral college. 5. In U.S. history, there has been one vice-presidential candidate who died after being nominated and one that withdrew from their partys ticket. Activating the National Popular Vote compact would reshape our . It could encourage voter turnout. Post author: Post published: June 29, 2022 Post category: Uncategorized Post comments: paris apartment eiffel tower view for sale paris apartment eiffel tower view for sale 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. And thats not how it should be in a democracy. It would be a national mandate to put someone in office, even if that winning candidate received less than 50% of the vote. Unexpected emergencies would be difficult to handle. The country thinks we are going to elect the president using the Electoral College/Winner-Take-All system tans and then four months before the election we change to the National Popular Vote Compact system and elect the president by whoever gets the most popular votes. Richards earned a master's degree at Carnegie Mellon University. Regional candidates could secure enough votes to win a national election. 4. Although faithless electors have not affected the results or outcome of an election yet, in 2016, there were 7 faithless electors. 805 15th Street, NW, Suite 800 Using the NPV system means that every vote counts the same. Make a contribution to support Common Cause today. The horror of a potential national recount is only one of the dangers direct presidential elections poses. Constitutional Amendment to Guarantee the Right to Vote for All U.S. Citizens. By continuing well assume youre on board with our, https://samploon.com/electoral-college-and-national-popular-vote-pros-and-cons/, Select a writer from a large pool of experts. 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. Definition and Examples. (LogOut/ It gives more voting power to individual voters in smaller states. This would happen in the extremely unlikely situation where this candidate would win just for one vote in some . Where the National Popular Vote Plan Stands. Donald Trump won the presidential election by securing 304 electoral votes, compared to Hillary Clintons 227 electoral votes. Retrieved from https://samploon.com/electoral-college-and-national-popular-vote-pros-and-cons/, Should the Electoral College Be Abolished, Pros for The Electoral College in the United States, Electoral College is Undemocratic but We Have no Better System, The Electoral College Should Be Terminated, The Electoral College Annotated Bibliography. Today, many electors are bound to vote according to their states' popular vote results, and those who aren't almost always do. And thats not how it should be in a democracy. Americans are still bent up and flustered on how an individual could lose the popular vote, but still, be given the upper hand in Electoral College votes. The bill has crossed paths with 36 legislative chambers and has been sponsored or voted for by 3,112 state legislators (National Popular Vote). After all, is said and done, the candidate who attains the largest number of votes can still lose. This type of system would give the individual voter a much more significant influence. And finally, the Electoral College doesnt work today anywhere near how the Founding Fathers intended it to work when they created it back in 1787. 48 Vitosha Boulevard, ground floor, 1000, Sofia, Bulgaria, Samploon, Inc. 2022. https://www.thoughtco.com/the-national-popular-vote-plan-3322047 (accessed March 4, 2023). and our But the much greater danger to American democracy is that direct elections may make it possible for a president to be elected by no more than 30 percent of the vote, regardless of his or her suitability for office, so long as there is sufficient money and a clever media advisor behind the effort. As a result, the percentage of popular votes secured by Donald Trump was just 46.4% in comparison with Hilary Clinton, who secured 48.5% of the votes. The National Popular Vote Interstate Compact collectively apportions votes to the winner of the overall popular vote without a constitutional amendment abolishing the electoral college or the assent of Congress. Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz often split about 60% of the GOP vote, which allowed Donald Trump to win early primaries with 35% of the vote. The one-vote approach does not align with the way the electoral votes operates. It would reduce diversity in the election structures. 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). A popular vote structure would virtually eliminate the idea of a third-party candidate having a chance in an election. The official 2016 election results from the Electoral College gave Donald J. Trump the victory with 306 electoral votes v. Hillary Clinton's 232 votes. 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. A candidate can win the popular vote in enough states to win a majority of electoral votes but still lose the popular vote nationally. List of the Cons of Using the Popular Vote 1. A plan to enact the National Popular Vote was introduced in the Michigan Legislature on Wednesday.
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