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. Samploon is a database of free essay samples. Either would likely produce an electoral vote count closer to the popular vote. The winner-take-all rule is not required by the Constitution and was actually used by only three states in the nation's first presidential election in 1789. 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 . The National Popular Vote effort, explained The National Popular Vote effort is now halfway to its goal of electing future presidents via the popular vote, after Rhode Island Gov. 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. Although faithless electors have not affected the results or outcome of an election yet, in 2016, there were 7 faithless electors. Here is the entire text of the proposed "Agreement Among the States to Elect the President by National Popular Vote." Tweet Email this More on The Electoral College: Honorable Steve Cohen 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. More attention is given to the swing states, such as Florida and Iowa, which causes the third problem the Electoral College can cause. But the national popular vote plan doesn't require a . 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. These battleground or swing states receive 7% more federal grants, twice as many presidential disaster declarations, more Superfund enforcement exemptions, and more No Child Left Behind law exemptions (National Popular Vote). Removing this system could encourage more people to come out to support their candidate. Although the 20th Amendment to the Constitution provides clarity to this situation, that process is based on 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. Explains kimberling, william c., and dave leip's . Hillary Clinton, but won the electoral vote to become the 45thPresident of the United States. 41 States (with 80% of U.S. population) will be Ignored in the 2024 Presidential Election. Here are the Cons of the Electoral College 1. Regional candidates could secure enough votes to win a national election. 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. In the early 19th century, many states ratified an approach that would allow the candidate with the most votes in that state to be the winner. The National Popular Vote Bill is not a Democrat or Republican bill. 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. The National Popular Vote plan does not do away with the Electoral College system, an action that would require a constitutional amendment. It happened once, in 1876. The time to stop its momentum is now. 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 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. All samples were added by students. When the Constitution was set in place in 1789, the U.S. elected its first president. 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 . 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 . The lack of competition and campaigning in a majority of states owes itself not to the existence of the Electoral College's indirect method of choosing presidents but rather to the winner-take-all method of choosing electors in all but two states. That's almost 1.5 billion . Even though we will be able to elect the president by national popular vote using the The National Popular Vote Interstate Compact, eventually the rules for how we elect the president should be an official part of the Constitution. 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. . There are logistical issues that are managed at the local level in each election. evergreen funeral home live stream. It seeks to be a bulwark against mass hysteria and the hysteria created by mass media. For the 7 presidential elections between 1992-2016, the Republican candidate has won the Electoral college 3 times. Do you have information you want to share with HuffPost? 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. The Supreme Court has said in local and state elections voting should be based on the principle of one person one vote. There are pros and cons to both systems. The NPV Interstate Compact does not eliminate the very complicated Electoral College system that most voters dont really understand. When you cast your ballot, you're not actually voting directly for your favored presidential candidate. In states with large population centers, individual voters have less power than voters in smaller states. Many people may feel that any major change in how we elect the president should be in the Constitution and not in a legal loop hole even if its legal and technically constitutional. E pluribus unum -- out of many, one. In 2016, Florida had 29 electoral votes and 9.4 million voters, created a voter value of 0.72. However, this also means that regions with a quite low population density will almost have no influence on the election outcome at all since they only have far too few votes to make a real difference. 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. Since 2008, 15 states and the District of Columbia have passed laws to adopt the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact (NPVIC), which is an multi-state agreement to commit electors to. This type of system would give the individual voter a much more significant influence. Proportional Plan 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. cons of the national popular vote plan. National Popular Vote is a constitutional and practical way to implement nationwide popular election of the President a goal traditionally supported by an overwhelming majority of Americans. 1. This post was published on the now-closed HuffPost Contributor platform. Due to some states being heavily populated in comparison to others, that may help a candidate quickly obtain a win. Published: Mar. When a popular vote is held for a national office, the election becomes more about platform issues than local issues. However, in the popular vote, Trump only received 62,984,825 votes against Hillary Clinton's 65,853,516 popular votes. After all, is said and done, the candidate who attains the largest number of votes can still lose. Although moving to a popular vote election would balance the weight of each vote, it would also create more sway in larger population states. An electoral college would solve . That would likely reduce the number of voters who cast a ballot in each election as most people are more concerned about local impacts than national policies. The appeal of NPV is the simplicity of its message. The alternative view of democracy is more complex; it is one that includes but is not limited to the pursuit of equality. on WordPress.com. It fails to reach the ideal of one-person one-vote. 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? All other elections in the U.S. are through the popular vote. 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 1. Is this a solution to first past the post or is it merely reinforcing our current two party system? By adding this new interstate compact to the Electoral College/Winner-Take-All system to elect our president we are in fact making this system even more complicated and even harder for the voters to understand. Under the Electoral College system, voters in states that are overwhelmingly in support of one candidate might feel like their vote is unimportant. The Pros and Cons of the Electoral College - SmartAsset The electoral college is a tradition of American politics that's fairly controversial. 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. Colorado is on the verge of joining a nationwide movement that could eventually change how we choose the next president of the United States. The bill has passed one chamber in 12 additional states with 96 electoral votes.
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