Or the opposite could be true. ThoughtCo. 1. Today, many electors are bound to vote according to their states' popular vote results, and those who aren't almost always do. Evidence as to how a nationwide presidential campaign would be run can be found by examining the way presidential candidates currently campaign inside battleground states. (See: Electoral Votes by State). 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. 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. In the 2000 presidential election, Al Gore won the popular vote by more than 500,000 ballots, but George Bush became president by winning the Electoral College 271 to 266. 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. Dont know what Ranked Choice Voting is? 3. And thats not how it should be in a democracy. 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? This text is available online and is used for gudiance and inspiration, We use cookies to give you the best experience possible. Here are six reasons why legislators should reject this attempt to jettison our electoral system: 1. 6. It is not at all clear that it would similarly prosper under the direct election regime being pushed by NPV. ThoughtCo, Dec. 16, 2020, thoughtco.com/the-national-popular-vote-plan-3322047. The NPV is a multi-state agreement that, when active, would ensure that the presidential candidate who wins the popular vote nationally also wins in the Electoral College. 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. Nevada passed the legislation in 2019, but Gov. Hence, the National Popular Vote plan is an interstate compact a type of state law authorized by the U.S. Constitution that enables states to enter into a legally enforceable, contractual obligation to undertake agreed joint actions, which may be delayed in implementation until a requisite number of states join in. Over the long run the countrys popular vote in presidential elections has roughly been equally split between Republican and Democratic.*. More attention is given to the swing states, such as Florida and Iowa, which causes the third problem the Electoral College can cause. How Many Electoral Votes Does a Candidate Need to Win? http://www.nationalpopularvote.com/. Learn more about how the National Popular Vote compact works and the ways it could make our elections better for everyone. It knows that a majoritarianism that produces a plurality is not the voice of a majority of the citizenry. But sometime in the future the popular vote will change back and lean Republican. The Supreme Court has said in local and state elections voting should be based on the principle of one person one vote. National Popular Vote Plan page 3 that non-member states that fail to hold such elections will not be included in the determination of 'the national popular vote winner.' This sidesteps the problem and provides an incentive for all states (non-members as well as members) to (continue to) hold such elections. 4. Although faithless electors have not affected the results or outcome of an election yet, in 2016, there were 7 faithless electors. How the National Popular Vote Plan Would Work. 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. To determine the National Popular Vote winner, state election officials simply would tally the nationwide vote for president based on each states official results. The time to stop its momentum is now. Mayors, governors, and senators are all elected by a simple majority. Others may struggle to meet higher than expected voter turnout levels. 9. It gives each vote an equal amount of power. Robert Longley is a U.S. government and history expert with over 30 years of experience in municipal government and urban planning. After the 2016 presidential election, political science expert Nate Silver wrote that, since the swing states are not likely to support any plan that might reduce their influence over control of the White House, the National Popular Vote bill will not succeed unless the predominately Republican red states adopt it. The discussion around using the popular vote for elections has increased since the results of the 2016 election. It could encourage voter turnout. It would require an Amendment in the U.S. for presidential elections. There would be fewer opportunities to illegally alter the results of an election. This brings us to 196 of the 270 electoral votes needed to activate the pact. The electoral college leads to a heavy emphasis on swing states and also typically over-represents citizens in rural states. 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. Louisiana voters should decide who receives Louisiana's electoral votes. A close election would trigger the need for a full recount. Change). 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. Just another site cons of the national popular vote plan . A majority of 270 electoral votes is required to elect the president. 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. A candidate can win the popular vote in enough states to win a majority of electoral votes but still lose the popular vote nationally. Even the minority party wouldnt be encouraged to negotiate because they could simply stall until the next election. Every state is allocated several votes according to the number of senators and representatives in its U.S. Congressional delegation. 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. After all, the Electoral College makes it possible that a candidate who wins the majority of the votes could still lose the election. Under the system of proportional representation, any party with a high enough percentage of the vote will receive a seat in the government. If you need to flag this entry as abusive. If that was to take place, America could potentially face the same issues it is facing now. 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. HuffPost's top politics stories, straight to your inbox. 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. Watch out! 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). (2021, Jun 14). Their vote only counts at the local level, not the national level, because of the electoral votes. Here are the essential pros and cons of popular vote elections to examine. It has been enacted into law in 11 states with 165 electoral votes, and will take effect when enacted by states with 105 more. Part of HuffPost Politics. In addition, the bill has been unanimously approved at the committee level in the states of Georgia and Missouri, controlling a combined 27 electoral votes. Activating the National Popular Vote compact would reshape our . The National Popular Vote Bill is not a Democrat or Republican bill. When the Constitution was set in place in 1789, the U.S. elected its first president. The years-old effort is slowly making its way through state legislatures in hopes of changing the way In 2016, Florida had 29 electoral votes and 9.4 million voters, created a voter value of 0.72. Once effective, states could withdraw from the compact at any time except during the six-month window between July 20 of an election year and Inauguration Day (January 20). In U.S. history, the electoral college winner has failed to secure the popular vote 5 times. The horror of a potential national recount is only one of the dangers direct presidential elections poses. Right now, the President of the United States is not elected by a popular vote. National Popular Vote values rural and urban voters equally. 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). The NPVIC is an agreement among states designed to guarantee election of the presidential candidate who wins the most popular votes in the 50 states and Washington, D.C. NPV is grounded in two powers delegated to states by the Constitution: the power to design rules for awarding their electoral votes and the power to enter into interstate Also the NPV Compact allows states to withdraw from the compact as late as four months before an election. The United States does not have direct election of its president, yet most national, state and local offices are filled by the candidate with the most 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." 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. If some of the 50 states and DC cannot certify their popular votes by the December deadline that could create a constitutional crisis where we would not have all of the state Electoral College votes certified by the time the Electoral College is required to vote according to the Constitution. 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. 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. America is known to have the costliest, prolonged, and complicated structure when electing a head of state. 1. Though the original, some would say highly undemocratic, purpose. pros and cons." dave leip's atlas of u.s. presidential elections. National Popular Vote compact pros and cons. 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. 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. Going to the popular vote would eliminate this issue altogether. All samples were added by students. The first advantage allows for electoral votes to be fairer than the Electoral College (Richards). 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 Reddit and its partners use cookies and similar technologies to provide you with a better experience. An individuals vote doesnt make a difference when it is counted against the votes of the delegates in the House of Representatives and Senate. These are the states that may go to either major party candidate in the election. As the National Popular Vote (NPV) movement steps up its effort to impose a direct election for president, attempting to enlist states with a sufficient number of electors to constitute a majority (268) and to bind them to the winner of the national popular vote, those states considering the proposal might first reflect on the nightmare aftermath Longley, Robert. It is not even a liberal or conservative bill. That structure makes it easier for extremist views to find official representation. Lawmakers discuss plan to enact National Popular Vote in Michigan. Under the current structure of the electoral college, the focus of a presidential campaign is on the so-called battleground states. mike matarazzo last photo. 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. In the 2020 general election, a ballot proposition attempted to overturn Colorado's membership to the pact, but the measure failed, 52.3% to 47.7% in the referendum. Privacy Policy. A faithless elector in the United States is someone who casts an electoral ballot for someone other than the individuals to whom they are pledged. 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. 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. 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. But the biggest problem with changing how we elect our president using the NPV Compact is that its too easy to change it back. That nightmare may seem like a pleasant dream if NPV has its way. Without the popular vote bill, swing states would continue to get more leverage and attention from candidates to ensure that they would be able to capture their votes. Heres how. Instead, each state and Washington D.C. is assigned a certain number of electoral votes based on its population. Under the plan, Michigan's 15 Electoral . Home| Government| Elections| Electoral College| Electoral College Pros And Cons. 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. Menu burger Close thin Facebook Twitter Google plus Linked in Reddit Email arrow-right-sm arrow-right Loading Home Buying Calculators 7. 12th Amendment: Fixing the Electoral College, What Is Majoritarianism? Do you have information you want to share with HuffPost. 4. 7. 4. With the polarization in global politics today, especially in the United States, a switch to the popular vote would likely increase costs even further. Weve already seen this issue take place with the GOP primaries in 2016. However, in the popular vote, Trump only received 62,984,825 votes against Hillary Clinton's 65,853,516 popular votes. I am confident that when we enter the next phase where the popular vote leans Republican that Republicans will change and be adamant that we should elect the president by direct popular vote and Democrats will be arguing why we should keep the Electoral College/Winner-Take-All system. With a popular vote in place, each election win would be decreed a mandate to follow the platform of the winning party. It has been enacted by twelve states, which include Rhode Island, Vermont, Hawaii, the District of Columbia, Connecticut, Maryland, Massachusetts, Washington, New Jersey, Illinois, New York, and California. Under the Electoral College system, voters in states that are overwhelmingly in support of one candidate might feel like their vote is unimportant. 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. That means the cost of counting all the votes would be duplicated. Our experts will write for you an essay on any topic, with any deadline and requirements from scratch, Electoral College and National Popular Vote Pros and Cons. on WordPress.com. The winner would receive one vote per congressional district won with the winner of the state popular vote gaining a two electoral votes. Currently, 48 of the 50 states follow the winner-take-all rule. And unlike direct elections, either would provide an incentive for grass-roots activity, coalition building and enhanced citizen participation. 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 official 2016 election results from the Electoral College gave Donald J. Trump the victory with 306 electoral votes v. Hillary Clinton's 232 votes. Surprisingly enough, the National Popular Vote bill could possibly bring forth some problems. 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. All in all, the Electoral College causes many problems that seem unfair to American voters during such an important election. The country could become less stable and divided if he or she did not have a vast amount of support (Richards). The cost of a presidential election in the United States is already several billion dollars. Proponents of the National Popular Vote fail to understand the most basic facts about the American presidential electoral system. 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. 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. 2. The National Bonus Plan was proposed by historian Arthur Schlesinger, Jr. 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 . 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. The votes of those who do not live in closely divided battleground states effectively count less. It has been enacted into law in 11 states with 165 electoral votes, and will take effect when enacted by states with 105 more. Is this a solution to first past the post or is it merely reinforcing our current two party system? Using the NPV system means that every vote counts the same. It gives more voting power to individual voters in smaller states. All other votes cast for that candidate are therefore superfluous. The second advantage is that the all votes would be equally weighed (Richards). Either would provide a reason for both parties to compete in most states because there would be electors to win. Lastly, the biggest problem that the Electoral College produces is the reality that a persons vote really doesnt matter (Black). A switch to the popular vote would eliminate the concept of a battleground state because the issue would be more on issues than states. Thats a bank of about 14 million potential voters that reliably vote as a majority for Democratic candidates. But the national popular vote plan doesn't require a . That principle should be expanded to presidential elections. what connection type is known as "always on"? In contrast, in a direct popular election, each vote matters equally. Secondly, it creates a minimalist depiction in the minds of the candidate towards more than 40 states. All other elections in the U.S. are through the popular vote. Some critics argue that more people would vote in a direct popular election, according to the University of the Pacific. 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. 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 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). It is our national motto and is so for a reason. The National Popular Vote initiative transpired in 2006. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email. Imagine a scenario where a presidential candidate focuses on Los Angeles, New York City, Portland, OR and Seattle. There are alternatives to winner-take-all that do not involve abandoning the positive aspects of the Electoral College. The method works by electing one elector within each congressional district by popular vote and selecting the remaining two electors by a statewide popular vote. Here are the Cons of the Electoral College 1. 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. Steve Sisolak vetoed it. 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. 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. The appeal of NPV is the simplicity of its message. Resource allocation would be focused on paid advertising, which would negate the need for grassroots activities. Instead of a direct popular election, the United States has the Electoral College, a group of electors who represent each state's votes. The electoral requires that an election which does not receive a majority of electoral votes be taken into the U.S. House of Representatives. 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. Only Nebraska and Maine do not. There are logistical issues that are managed at the local level in each election. 3. Today the Democrats want to replace the Electoral College/Winner-Take-All system with a direct popular vote and the Republicans adamantly want to keep it. Bosque de Palabras 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. Definition and Examples. 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. As of December 2020, the bill has been fully adopted predominately by Democratic-majority blue states which delivered the 14 largest vote shares for Barack Obama in the 2012 Presidential Election. Some states, such as California and Hawaii, both had their bills vetoed by their governors before it was overridden and enacted by state legislators. In the case of a tie, there are contingencies in place to determine which person will serve in the elected office. 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 . Constitutional Amendment to Guarantee the Right to Vote for All U.S. Citizens. Because a direct election would be, by definition, national and resource allocation would be overwhelmingly dominated by paid television advertising, there would be little impetus for grass-roots activity. It would reduce diversity in the election structures. 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. This is a situation that has caused controversy in the election years of of 1800, 1876, 1888, 2000 and 2016 when the elected president won the Electoral College and the presidency but did not win the popular vote. National Popular Vote - Pros and Cons "The National Popular Vote bill would guarantee the Presidency to the candidate who receives the most popular votes in the entire U.S. The Electoral College is made up of 538 electors and a majority of 270 electoral votes is mandatory to nominate the President. This type of system would give the individual voter a much more significant influence. A close election would trigger the need for a full recount. As a result, the bill will take effect when enacted by states possessing an additional 74 electoral votes. And that would lead to chaos in how political parties campaign for president and could also undermine the legitimacy of the process. That view of democracy recognizes the existence and desirability of organized interests and enshrines that principle under the concept of pluralism. Maryland and New Jersey passed this bill in 2007, Hawaii and Illinois in 2008, Washington in 2009, Massachusetts and the District of Columbia in 2010, California and Vermont in 2011, Rhode Island in 2013, New York in 2014 and Connecticut in 2018.