When you cast your ballot, you're not actually voting directly for your favored presidential candidate. What would happen during a switch to the popular vote would be unknown. 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. 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. ashburnham school committee; its his baby now political cartoon meaning; softstar primal sawyer 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. 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. This would happen in the extremely unlikely situation where this candidate would win just for one vote in some . Others may struggle to meet higher than expected voter turnout levels. The bill has crossed paths with 36 legislative chambers and has been sponsored or voted for by 3,112 state legislators (National Popular Vote). 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. If a popular vote were allowed to declare a winner instead, it wouldnt be through a state-by-state counting of electoral votes. 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. Each vote would affect each candidate instead of being overlooked due to which state those votes would be coming from. Actually the NPV Compact doesnt change one word in he Constitution and in fact only changes state laws. The popular vote currently gives every citizenCalifornians and Texans, Hawaiians and Mainers, Alabamans and Oregoniansan equal say in choosing the president. This type of system would give the individual voter a much more significant influence. And that would lead to chaos in how political parties campaign for president and could also undermine the legitimacy of the process. Politicians would focus on fewer swing states (Bigger states more potential votes) pros and cons." dave leip's atlas of u.s. presidential elections. In the 2016 election, "swing states" that might vote Republican or Democrat like Wisconsin were targets of candidates Donald J. Trump and Hillary R. Clinton. Electoral votes are designated among the states based on Census. 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. Under the electoral college, the majority votes of states assign electoral votes to a candidate, which then creates a majority total required for a victory. The pros and cons of the popular vote structure of an election allow for the majority to have their say in who they wish to serve. 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. Imagine a scenario where a presidential candidate focuses on Los Angeles, New York City, Portland, OR and Seattle. That would increase the amount of polarization being experienced in politics today because there would be less of a need to compromise. It has been enacted into law in 11 states with 165 electoral votes, and will take effect when enacted by states with 105 more. According to Article II, Section 1, "Each State shall appoint, in such Manner as the Legislature thereof may direct, a Number of Electors, equal to the whole Number of Senators and Representatives to which the State may be entitled in the Congress." National Popular Vote will create a single member district (all 50 states and D.C.), where the candidate with the most votes wins and . Bosque de Palabras 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. Because its so hard to get an amendment to the Constitution passed that means that once it becomes law it will probably remain so for a long time because the bar to change it back is so high. 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. The National Popular Vote compact would have the same effect as a constitutional amendment to abolish the Electoral College but has the benefit of retaining the power to control presidential elections in states hands. Cookie Notice Wyoming had just 3 electoral votes, but only had 255,000 voters as well. Under the plan, Michigan's 15 Electoral . 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. While we look further into the National Popular Vote, lets investigate some of its pro and cons for the American democracy. 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. Because of the state Winner-Take-All rules, which arent even part of the Constitution, they can lead to presidential elections where the winner of the election doesnt have the most popular votes. America is known to have the costliest, prolonged, and complicated structure when electing a head of state. 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.. Voters in spectator states, including five of the nations 10 most populous states (California, Texas, New York, Illinois, and New Jersey), and 12 of the 13 least populous states (all but New Hampshire) have no real incentive to go to the polls as their votes do not affect the outcome of the election. This advance is referred to as the winner-take-all approach. National Popular Vote (NPV) was founded in 2006 by lottery scratch-card inventor John Koza and election lawyer Barry Fadem to lobby for an "interstate compact" for states to deliver their electoral votes for President to the "winner" of the national popular vote. 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 stems from the winner-take-all approach that validates the presidential candidate interactions with only 4 out of 50 dates during their campaign. The horror of a potential national recount is only one of the dangers direct presidential elections poses. Change), You are commenting using your Facebook account. Today, many electors are bound to vote according to their states' popular vote results, and those who aren't almost always do. That means the cost of counting all the votes would be duplicated. But sometime in the future the popular vote will change back and lean Republican. Just 12 Closely Divided Battleground States Got 96% of 2020 Campaign Events. In Maine, both houses of the legislature passed the bill in 2019, but it failed at the final enactment step. "The National Popular Vote Plan." 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. It is not at all clear that it would similarly prosper under the direct election regime being pushed by NPV. Lastly, some Americans believe that there would be an increase in voter turn-out if people felt that their vote was viewed as a significant asset to their country. Menu burger Close thin Facebook Twitter Google plus Linked in Reddit Email arrow-right-sm arrow-right Loading Home Buying Calculators F. Kennedy, Richard Nixon, Bill Clinton and George W. Bush were elected with less than a majority of the votes cast. 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? First it would be relatively easy to implement. 1, 2023 at 1:16 PM PST. 3. Cons: Smaller states don't get as much of a say and people would demand a national recount National Bonus Plan Winner of popular vote gets extra 102 electoral votes Pros: 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. However, a popular vote system, although hard to implement, is a more purely democratic system than the Electoral College. The United States has a representative democracy rather than a direct democracy: Citizens elect representatives rather than voting on each bill. 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 Part of HuffPost Politics. During the 2012 elections, 38 states, also known as spectator states, were ignored and forgotten. Candidates feel these states need a little bit more of their attention and apply pressure to supply these states with solutions to their problems in order to gain their vote. People are moving to live in like-minded communities more than ever before. When a popular vote is held for a national office, the election becomes more about platform issues than local issues. However, many people believe that a direct popular election is more democratic and fair than the Electoral College. The appeal of NPV is the simplicity of its message. PBS: What does voter turnout tell us about the 2016 election. It would be a national mandate to put someone in office, even if that winning candidate received less than 50% of the vote. Thats the way it has been in this country for a long time. The principal flaw in the plan is its assumption that under the plan there will still be only two major parties competing for the presidency in 2020. . And thats not how it should be in a democracy. All samples were added by students. ThoughtCo, Dec. 16, 2020, thoughtco.com/the-national-popular-vote-plan-3322047. She graduated magna cum laude from Brandeis University with bachelor's degrees in creative writing, English/American literature and international studies. That could lead to a very bad situation where, instead of the people voting in November to determine who the next president is, one or two states could effectively decide who becomes the next president simply by joining or withdrawing from the NPV Compact and changing the rules on how the votes for president are counted in the next election. A popular vote system would significantly impact voters and turnout. Over the years, the National Popular Vote bill has been introduced in the legislatures of all 50 states. 2. Less would get done, which would affect the needs of households at the local level. 2023 BuzzFeed, Inc. All rights reserved. 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. 8. 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. It has been enacted into law in 11 states with 165 electoral votes, and will take effect when enacted by states with 105 more. 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. 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. Here are six reasons why legislators should reject this attempt to jettison our electoral system: 1. Richards earned a master's degree at Carnegie Mellon University. 1. on Advantages and Disadvantages of the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact, Follow All U.S. Citizens Should Vote. During the 2012 elections, 38 states, also known as spectator states, were ignored and forgotten. Our state will likely vote overwhelmingly for the Republican challenger to Barack Obama in November. You can find out more about our use, change your default settings, and withdraw your consent at any time with effect for the future by visiting Cookies Settings, which can also be found in the footer of the site. 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 . In fact, the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact, which has now been adopted by 15 states and the District of Columbia, totaling 196 electoral votes, is an actionable and realistic . That means some voters, like Republicans in California or Democrats in Mississippi, are voting without power and without attention from their preferred candidates each year. Lincoln Chafee (D) made his state the latest to sign on. Moving to the popular vote structure would eliminate this potential issue. In fact, let's tally up all the votes cast for president between 1932 and 2008.
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