E pluribus unum -- out of many, one. 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. The bill has crossed paths with 36 legislative chambers and has been sponsored or voted for by 3,112 state legislators (National Popular Vote). PBS: What does voter turnout tell us about the 2016 election. what connection type is known as "always on"? 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. Analyzes how william c. kimberling, the deputy director of the federal election commission, is a credible author over the issue. Join the thousands across the country who instantly rally when there is a threat to our democracy. It seeks to be a bulwark against mass hysteria and the hysteria created by mass media. It fails to reach the ideal of one-person one-vote. In theory that could happen every four years. 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 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. . Just another site cons of the national popular vote plan . A popular vote election would bring the presidential election in line with the rest of the election structures. 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. Even the minority party wouldnt be encouraged to negotiate because they could simply stall until the next election. With the polarization in global politics today, especially in the United States, a switch to the popular vote would likely increase costs even further. 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. All in all, the Electoral College causes many problems that seem unfair to American voters during such an important election. 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 states' approval of the compact is a victory for democracy and the principle of "one person, one vote." Under the Electoral College/Winner-Take-All system votes in small states, like Wyoming or Delaware count double what votes in large states like California or Texas. 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%. Change), You are commenting using your Twitter account. The National Popular Vote bill will take effect when enacted into law by states possessing 270 electoral votes a majority of the current 538 electoral votes. 2. I fear that most, if not all, of the states signing onto the NPV Compact will be just blue states. Since the Constitution and the Bill of Rights became governing documents in the United States, there have only been 17 amendments made to it. 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. 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. 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. Bush and Al Gore (Black). It is also true that no president since 1824 has received the votes of a majority of the eligible voters and 18 presidents, including Andrew Jackson, Abraham Lincoln, Woodrow Wilson, Harry S. Truman, John. 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. Over the long run the countrys popular vote in presidential elections has roughly been equally split between Republican and Democratic.*. . Lastly, the biggest problem that the Electoral College produces is the reality that a persons vote really doesnt matter (Black). NPV is more than a third of the way to its goal. 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. A close election would trigger the need for a full recount. When a popular vote is held for a national office, the election becomes more about platform issues than local issues. 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. 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. sale of united methodist church property. Currently, 48 of the 50 states follow the winner-take-all rule. Others may struggle to meet higher than expected voter turnout levels. 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. The plan would not get rid of the Electoral College. Note: Today we are in a phase where the popular vote in presidential elections leans Democratic. ashburnham school committee; its his baby now political cartoon meaning; softstar primal sawyer There are logistical issues that are managed at the local level in each election. List of the Cons of Proportional Representation. 1. 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. Do you have information you want to share with HuffPost. cons of the national popular vote plan. It would reduce diversity in the election structures. Feb 25, 2023. However, many people believe that a direct popular election is more democratic and fair than the Electoral College. 5. on Advantages and Disadvantages of the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact, Follow All U.S. Citizens Should Vote. 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. Would you like to get a custom essay? 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. How the US Electoral College System Works, Biography of Donald Trump, 45th President of the United States, What Is Statutory Law? That, in turn, would likely diminish voter turnout. 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. Under the system of proportional representation, any party with a high enough percentage of the vote will receive a seat in the government. It makes things easier for extreme parties to gain representation. Less would get done, which would affect the needs of households at the local level. In theory we could change how we elect our president every four years. The NPV Interstate Compact does not eliminate the very complicated Electoral College system that most voters dont really understand. 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 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. You are also agreeing to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. As a result, the bill will take effect when enacted by states possessing an additional 74 electoral votes. The country could become less stable and divided if he or she did not have a vast amount of support (Richards). 5. What would happen during a switch to the popular vote would be unknown. Lincoln Chafee (D) made his state the latest to sign on. A direct popular election also ensures that citizens' votes have equal weight. Imperfect, because its modern-day blessings -- enhancing coalition building, pluralism, federalism and grass-roots participation -- are enjoyed only by a minority of states (in any given presidential election 18 or 20), where the battle for electoral votes is competitive for both major parties. 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. It could encourage voter turnout. 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. 7. 1. Definition and Examples, Learn How Many Total Electoral Votes There Are. Though the original, some would say highly undemocratic, purpose. In 2016, Florida had 29 electoral votes and 9.4 million voters, created a voter value of 0.72. The alternative view of democracy is more complex; it is one that includes but is not limited to the pursuit of equality. NCSL conducts policy research in areas ranging from agriculture and budget and tax issues to education and health care to immigration and transportation. A majority of 270 electoral votes is required to elect the president. But for those people who feel that changing how we elect the president should only be done by constitutional amendment they will feel that using the NPV Compact will undermine the legitimacy of the process even though its perfectly legal and constitutional. 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. It sees a healthy and vibrant democracy needing the underpinnings of civil society that rests on the sustained and active engagement of the citizenry and promotes approaches that seek to maximize that involvement. This has occurred in 5 of the nation's 56 presidential elections, most recently in 2016. 2. Longley, Robert. Thats a bank of about 14 million potential voters that reliably vote as a majority for Democratic candidates. And thats not how it should be in a democracy. 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. 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. A popular vote system would significantly impact voters and turnout. 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. How the National Popular Vote Plan Would Work. 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. 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. I will explain that in another blog post. cons of the national popular vote plan. That would increase the amount of polarization being experienced in politics today because there would be less of a need to compromise. 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. Surprisingly enough, the National Popular Vote bill could possibly bring forth some problems. Like most issues involving politics, the U.S. Constitution is largely silent on the political issues of presidential elections. 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. At that stage, anyone who received an electoral vote is eligible to become the next president. Where the National Popular Vote Plan Stands. It would require an Amendment in the U.S. for presidential elections. Image the country thinks it is going to elect the president by National Popular Vote and then changing back to using the old Electoral College/Winner-Take-All system just four months before an election. 2. If that was to take place, America could potentially face the same issues it is facing now. 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 knows that a majoritarianism that produces a plurality is not the voice of a majority of the citizenry. 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. And unlike direct elections, either would provide an incentive for grass-roots activity, coalition building and enhanced citizen participation. This blog post is a joint effort with Leslie Francis, former executive director of the Democratic National Committee and Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. April 8, 2016 National popular vote far better than Electoral College system for choosing presidents, Stanford professors say. Proportional Plan 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.. Although moving to a popular vote election would balance the weight of each vote, it would also create more sway in larger population states. Yes. That principle should be expanded to presidential elections. 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. Definition and Examples. It would reduce the influence of third parties on the U.S. presidential election. Home| Government| Elections| Electoral College| Electoral College Pros And Cons. They have only won the popular vote once. The cost of a presidential election in the United States is already several billion dollars. Even if states impose fines on faithless electors for their actions, it is not a guarantee that the behavior will stop. Each states electoral votes are tallied by Congress in the House chamber by House and Senate representatives on the 6th day of January following the Presidential election. Regional candidates could secure enough votes to win a national election. 622 By John Samples The National Popular Vote plan (NPV), introduced in more than 40 states, and adopted. 4. 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. In summary, a popular vote is simply a vote in which the individual or issue with the most total votes from a population of voters is the winner. Donald Trump won the presidential election by securing 304 electoral votes, compared to Hillary Clintons 227 electoral votes. 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. Colorado is on the verge of joining a nationwide movement that could eventually change how we choose the next president of the United States. 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. The last amendment, the 27th Amendment to the Constitution, was ratified nearly 200 years after it was originally proposed. Presidential candidates have no reason to poll, visit, advertise, organize, or campaign in states that they cannot possibly win or lose; in 2016, 68% of presidential campaign visits took place in just six states. Activating the National Popular Vote compact would reshape our . A simple change in the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact could fix the flaw and still provide the benefits of a popular election. 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. It would be a national mandate to put someone in office, even if that winning candidate received less than 50% of the vote. 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 of the 2000 presidential election.
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