The discussion around using the popular vote for elections has increased since the results of the 2016 election. Richard F. Potthoff looks critically at a proposed alternative way of electing the US president, the National Popular Vote plan, where all states in an interstate compact which cover 270 or more electoral votes would cast their electoral votes for the candidate who won the nationwide vote, no matter who wins their state. Bosque de Palabras 4. 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. on Advantages and Disadvantages of the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact, Follow All U.S. Citizens Should Vote. Either would provide a reason for both parties to compete in most states because there would be electors to win. In U.S. history, there has been one vice-presidential candidate who died after being nominated and one that withdrew from their partys ticket. Using the NPV system means that every vote counts the same. This has occurred in only four of the 58 presidential . The National Bonus Plan was proposed by historian Arthur Schlesinger, Jr. How about receiving a customized one? 3. Over the long run the countrys popular vote in presidential elections has roughly been equally split between Republican and Democratic.*. 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. 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. 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 . 4. Resource allocation would be focused on paid advertising, which would negate the need for grassroots activities. 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). Thats a bank of about 14 million potential voters that reliably vote as a majority for Democratic candidates. All samples were added by students. 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. 10 Apr. To become president of the United States of America, you must be at least 35 years old, have lived in the U.S. for at least 14 years and be a natural-born citizen. Longley, Robert. It would eliminate the Congressional provisions for a non-majority election. 6. Inicio; Nota Biografica; Obra; Blogs. Thats the way it has been in this country for a long time. I fear that most, if not all, of the states signing onto the NPV Compact will be just blue states. Just another site cons of the national popular vote plan . 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. There are logistical issues that are managed at the local level in each election. There would be a reduced need to build coalitions. The selection of presidential electors is specifically entrusted to the states by the Constitution. Even if states impose fines on faithless electors for their actions, it is not a guarantee that the behavior will stop. All in all, the Electoral College causes many problems that seem unfair to American voters during such an important election. The National Popular Vote initiative transpired in 2006. 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). But if some non-member pros and cons." dave leip's atlas of u.s. presidential elections. Like most issues involving politics, the U.S. Constitution is largely silent on the political issues of presidential elections. Heres how. 6. To determine the National Popular Vote winner, state election officials simply would tally the nationwide vote for president based on each states official results. 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. Steve Sisolak vetoed it. Feb 25, 2023. 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." Louisiana voters should decide who receives Louisiana's electoral votes. In theory that could happen every four years. 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 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 happened once, in 1876. 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. Under the current structure of the electoral college, the focus of a presidential campaign is on the so-called battleground states. Home| Government| Elections| Electoral College| Electoral College Pros And Cons. 2. The horror of a potential national recount is only one of the dangers direct presidential elections poses. Would you like to get a custom essay? The only election in the United States which is not governed by the popular vote is the presidential election. Though the original, some would say highly undemocratic, purpose. A close election would trigger the need for a full recount. 8. 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 5. A Critique of the National Popular Vote October 13, 2008 Policy Analysis No. To pass an amendment to change the Constitution the Founding Fathers wisely required approval by 2/3 of both houses of Congress and 3/4 of the state legislatures instead of a simple majority. There are alternatives to winner-take-all that do not involve abandoning the positive aspects of the Electoral College. Learn more about how the National Popular Vote compact works and the ways it could make our elections better for everyone. [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.]. That would increase the amount of polarization being experienced in politics today because there would be less of a need to compromise. 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. List of the Cons of Proportional Representation. After the process, the President of the Senate reveals who has officially been voted in as President and Vice President of the United States. cons of the national popular vote plan. The plan would not get rid of the Electoral College. After all, the Electoral College makes it possible that a candidate who wins the majority of the votes could still lose the election. Many of these states dont participate in campaign visits or get televised ads. 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 National Popular Vote Plan. Nevada passed the legislation in 2019, but Gov. Opines that the national popular vote plan is the wrong way to abolith the electoral college. 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. Imagine a scenario where a presidential candidate focuses on Los Angeles, New York City, Portland, OR and Seattle. Unexpected emergencies would be difficult to handle. Many Americans are confused about how a win is obtained under these conditions and are on a quest to change this traditional statute. . And that would lead to chaos in how political parties campaign for president and could also undermine the legitimacy of the process. 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. By accepting all cookies, you agree to our use of cookies to deliver and maintain our services and site, improve the quality of Reddit, personalize Reddit content and advertising, and measure the effectiveness of advertising. Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/the-national-popular-vote-plan-3322047. 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. 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. It would reduce diversity in the election structures. That effectively means that votes in the the 75% of the country that are in swing states effectively dont count at all. 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 states that join the NPV Compact will not be able to certify their Electoral College Votes until all 50 states and DC certify their state popular votes and any mandated/requested recounts since the Compact state ECVs are dependent on the winner of the national popular vote and not just their own state popular votes. 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. 2. The National Bonus Plan maintains the Electoral College voting system but adds 102 bonus electoral votes to the existing 538 votes. Although faithless electors have not affected the results or outcome of an election yet, in 2016, there were 7 faithless electors. With a popular vote in place, each election win would be decreed a mandate to follow the platform of the winning party. That view of democracy recognizes the existence and desirability of organized interests and enshrines that principle under the concept of pluralism. 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. Rural voters would almost always be in the minority. In countries where the concept of popular votes is in place, every vote has an equal weight regarding the election outcome. 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. In the U.S., that means people who lean Democratic live in urban areas, while people who lean Republican live in rural areas. It makes things easier for extreme parties to gain representation. Only Nebraska and Maine do not. That nightmare may seem like a pleasant dream if NPV has its way. 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). 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 reduce the threshold necessary to win the office. 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. Contributors control their own work and posted freely to our site. It is not even a liberal or conservative bill. 2015. 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 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. It would limit the influence of local issues in the election. Maine and Nebraska are the only two states that are not affected by this approach. 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 danger of NPV is that it will undermine the complex and vital underpinnings of American democracy. 4. 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. Going to the popular vote would eliminate this issue altogether. 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. 6. 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. This would happen in the extremely unlikely situation where this candidate would win just for one vote in some . Is this a solution to first past the post or is it merely reinforcing our current two party system? There are a number of pros for this method. Weve already seen this issue take place with the GOP primaries in 2016. 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. https://www.thoughtco.com/the-national-popular-vote-plan-3322047 (accessed March 4, 2023). 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. The candidate who placed second in the popular vote was elected in 2016, 2000, 1888, 1876, and 1824. When you cast your ballot, you're not actually voting directly for your favored presidential candidate. One of the biggest reasons why voters dont vote is because they feel like their vote doesnt count. Although moving to a popular vote election would balance the weight of each vote, it would also create more sway in larger population states. In Maine, both houses of the legislature passed the bill in 2019, but it failed at the final enactment step. 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. 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. It would be a national mandate to put someone in office, even if that winning candidate received less than 50% of the vote. 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. PBS: What does voter turnout tell us about the 2016 election. The popular vote eliminates this issue too. It would require an Amendment in the U.S. for presidential elections. (LogOut/ In a closely contested direct popular election, every precinct across the country might require close examination, rather than a handful of states or precincts. 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. "The National Popular Vote bill would guarantee the Presidency to the candidate who receives the most popular votes in the entire U.S. Today, many electors are bound to vote according to their states' popular vote results, and those who aren't almost always do. That principle should be expanded to presidential elections. The winner would receive all of the compact states electoral votes, giving them at least the necessary 270 to win the White House. 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. 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. 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. Currently, 48 of the 50 states follow the winner-take-all rule. It awards all the bonus votes to the winner of the popular vote. June 7, 2022 . Cookies collect information about your preferences and your devices and are used to make the site work as you expect it to, to understand how you interact with the site, and to show advertisements that are targeted to your interests. As a result, the bill will take effect when enacted by states possessing an additional 74 electoral votes. Is the National Popular Vote Plan Constitutional? 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. The Congressional District method would allocate electoral votes based on the winner of each congressional district. 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. 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. what connection type is known as "always on"? This was the intent of the Founding Fathers. The first advantage allows for electoral votes to be fairer than the Electoral College (Richards). That's almost 1.5 billion . 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. 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). All states could adopt the system that now exists in Maine and Nebraska, where all but two electors are chosen by congressional district, and the other two go to the statewide winner. 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. Less would get done, which would affect the needs of households at the local level. Reddit and its partners use cookies and similar technologies to provide you with a better experience. When the Constitution was set in place in 1789, the U.S. elected its first president. An electoral college would solve . Candidates feel they either cant win or lose with the votes from these states. The alternative view of democracy is more complex; it is one that includes but is not limited to the pursuit of equality. The compact is designed to ensure that the candidate who receives the most votes nationwide is elected president, and it . For more information, please see our Common Cause
Watch out! 9. This feature is critical to the passionate bipartisan support the compact receives. 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. During the 2012 elections, 38 states, also known as spectator states, were ignored and forgotten. Robert Longley is a U.S. government and history expert with over 30 years of experience in municipal government and urban planning. Lastly, it may cause a third-party candidate to prevail and win, which would allow Americans to be given more choices besides the two primary parties (Richards). 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. If a popular vote were allowed to declare a winner instead, it wouldnt be through a state-by-state counting of electoral votes. A candidate could be elected without the popular vote. Definition and Examples, How Political Party Convention Delegates are Chosen, What Is a Caucus? . Do you have information you want to share with HuffPost? Past Event: The League of Women Voters of Berrien and Cass Counties has announced plans to broadcast a webinar discussing the National Popular Vote (NPV) on Monday, Feb. 27 at 7:00 p.m. National Popular Vote has been leading the campaign to fix the electoral college and elect the president by national popular vote since its founding in 2006 . What would happen during a switch to the popular vote would be unknown. And thats not how it should be in a democracy. For the 7 presidential elections between 1992-2016, the Republican candidate has won the Electoral college 3 times. It would reduce the influence of third parties on the U.S. presidential election. 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.
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