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. Some critics argue that more people would vote in a direct popular election, according to the University of the Pacific. Thats how politics works in America. The years-old effort is slowly making its way through state legislatures in hopes of changing the way That principle should be expanded to presidential elections. Note: Today we are in a phase where the popular vote in presidential elections leans Democratic. A popular vote election takes all ballots that are cast, counts them, and declares the winner based on who received the most votes. (2021, Jun 14). The National Popular Vote plan would eliminate what critics of the Electoral College system point to as the "winner-take-all" rule - the awarding all of a state's electoral votes to the candidate who receives the most popular votes in that state. This feature is critical to the passionate bipartisan support the compact receives. June 7, 2022 . Either would provide a reason for both parties to compete in most states because there would be electors to win. It has also happened four times out of the 56 presidential elections. 3. 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. Wyoming had just 3 electoral votes, but only had 255,000 voters as well. (LogOut/ This move would ensure that the Presidency would be given to the candidate that received the most popular votes all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Because of the winner-take-all rule, a candidate can be elected president without winning the most popular votes nationwide. An electoral college would solve . 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. 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. 15 states and Washington, D.C. have joined the National Popular Vote compact. Web. 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 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 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. The appeal of NPV is the simplicity of its message. 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. cons of the national popular vote plan. Rural voters would almost always be in the minority. The NPV Interstate Compact does not eliminate the very complicated Electoral College system that most voters dont really understand. How the US Electoral College System Works, Biography of Donald Trump, 45th President of the United States, What Is Statutory Law? Opines that the national popular vote plan is the wrong way to abolith the electoral college. [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.]. A candidate could be elected without the popular vote. But sometime in the future the popular vote will change back and lean Republican. Weve already seen this issue take place with the GOP primaries in 2016. 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 official 2016 election results from the Electoral College gave Donald J. Trump the victory with 306 electoral votes v. Hillary Clinton's 232 votes. A close election would trigger the need for a full recount. It would require an Amendment in the U.S. for presidential elections. List of the Cons of Using the Popular Vote 1. The Electoral College system, however imperfect, serves this broader view of democracy. 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. 2015. By rejecting non-essential cookies, Reddit may still use certain cookies to ensure the proper functionality of our platform. 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. Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/the-national-popular-vote-plan-3322047. For the 7 presidential elections between 1992-2016, the Republican candidate has won the Electoral college 3 times. Longley, Robert. 6. It would eliminate the threat of a faithless elector. Definition and Examples, Learn How Many Total Electoral Votes There Are. That structure makes it easier for extremist views to find official representation. It would reduce diversity in the election structures. Is this a solution to first past the post or is it merely reinforcing our current two party system? It has its pros and cons though, many of which critics debate over. 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. Secondly, it creates a minimalist depiction in the minds of the candidate towards more than 40 states. The alternative view of democracy is more complex; it is one that includes but is not limited to the pursuit of equality. 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. Either would likely produce an electoral vote count closer to the popular vote. 2. (2020, December 16). Colorado is on the verge of joining a nationwide movement that could eventually change how we choose the next president of the United States. 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. 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. After all, is said and done, the candidate who attains the largest number of votes can still lose. 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). 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. If this happens many people in the red states will not feel that the change is legitimate even if its legal and technically constitutional. 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. 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. 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." The Electoral College is very undemocratic and riddled with issues. Feb 25, 2023. For the popular vote, however, Hillary Clinton received 65.8 million votes, while Donald Trump received 62.9 million votes. 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. In states with large population centers, individual voters have less power than voters in smaller states. 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. In U.S. history, there has been one vice-presidential candidate who died after being nominated and one that withdrew from their partys ticket. Actually the NPV Compact doesnt change one word in he Constitution and in fact only changes state laws. 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. However, a popular vote system, although hard to implement, is a more purely democratic system than the Electoral College. 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. A popular vote structure would virtually eliminate the idea of a third-party candidate having a chance in an election. However, some critics argue that the advantages of a direct popular election including reflecting democratic principals, outweigh the disadvantages. Lawmakers discuss plan to enact National Popular Vote in Michigan. The NPV movement seeks to create an unfair and unconstitutional system that diminishes the voting rights of citizens throughout the country and raises the prospect of increased voter fraud and. That offers the possibility that someone unwilling or unable to hold the office could be elected. How the National Popular Vote Plan Would Work. Unless the national popular vote was very close, or there were all lot of recounts outstanding, the Compact states in most cases would effectively know what the outcome would be and could be prepared to certify their state votes very quickly to make the Electoral College meeting date deadline. 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. List of the Cons of Proportional Representation. The country could become less stable and divided if he or she did not have a vast amount of support (Richards). Richards earned a master's degree at Carnegie Mellon University. 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. Home| Government| Elections| Electoral College| Electoral College Pros And Cons. During the 2012 elections, 38 states, also known as spectator states, were ignored and forgotten. 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. 3. In the U.S., that means people who lean Democratic live in urban areas, while people who lean Republican live in rural areas. The National Popular Vote Bill is not a Democrat or Republican bill. I will explain that in another blog post. Security would be improved across the country. Activating the National Popular Vote compact would reshape our . In U.S. history, the electoral college winner has failed to secure the popular vote 5 times. Due to some states being heavily populated in comparison to others, that may help a candidate quickly obtain a win. The election is held every four years on the first Tuesday in November and prior to election day, the two candidates endure state-level primaries, caucuses, debates, and conventions. Electoral votes are designated among the states based on Census. An individuals vote doesnt make a difference when it is counted against the votes of the delegates in the House of Representatives and Senate. Electing a president who did not have broad regional support could lead to a fractured and less cohesive country, according to the Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections. 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. 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. The popular vote eliminates this issue too. Using the NPV system means that every vote counts the same. 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 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 method works by electing one elector within each congressional district by popular vote and selecting the remaining two electors by a statewide popular vote. The appeal of NPV is the simplicity of its message. Under the electoral college system (and other voting systems not based on popular voting), it only takes one extra vote more than the other candidate to create the needed results for the election. The Electoral College is made up of 538 electors and a majority of 270 electoral votes is mandatory to nominate the President. 4. Though the original, some would say highly undemocratic, purpose. This post was published on the now-closed HuffPost Contributor platform. Instead of a direct popular election, the United States has the Electoral College, a group of electors who represent each state's votes. Yes. 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. ashburnham school committee; its his baby now political cartoon meaning; softstar primal sawyer The amendment requires that any change to the rate of compensation for members of Congress can only take effect after a subsequent election in the House of Representatives. Should that happen, then the final decision of who gets to serve as President of the United States is taken away from individual voters. It gives more voting power to individual voters in smaller states. It is perhaps the most simplistic form of an election. The first advantage allows for electoral votes to be fairer than the Electoral College (Richards). 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. First it would be relatively easy to implement. Definition and Examples, How Political Party Convention Delegates are Chosen, What Is a Caucus? on WordPress.com. The Electoral College distorts presidential campaigns . 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. OKLAHOMA CITY Oklahomans will head to the polls March 7 to decide if the state will become the 22nd in the country to legalize recreational marijuana for use by anyone 21 and older. 6. In contrast, in a direct popular election, each vote matters equally. The states would implement this plan once enough states controlling 270 electoral votes have signed on, guaranteeing that the national popular vote winner will win the presidency.. Change), You are commenting using your Twitter account. It seeks to be a bulwark against mass hysteria and the hysteria created by mass media. To determine the National Popular Vote winner, state election officials simply would tally the nationwide vote for president based on each states official results. 4. 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. That would increase the amount of polarization being experienced in politics today because there would be less of a need to compromise. 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. A popular vote election would bring the presidential election in line with the rest of the election structures. mike matarazzo last photo. In 2016, Gary Johnson received 4.48 million votes and 0 electoral votes, but the potential is always there for this to happen. The electoral college leads to a heavy emphasis on swing states and also typically over-represents citizens in rural states. But don't forget, Bush won the popular vote four years later by three million votes. Over the long run the countrys popular vote in presidential elections has roughly been equally split between Republican and Democratic.*. NCSL conducts policy research in areas ranging from agriculture and budget and tax issues to education and health care to immigration and transportation. 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 . 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. And thats not how it should be in a democracy. Under the current structure of the electoral college, the focus of a presidential campaign is on the so-called battleground states. One of the biggest reasons why voters dont vote is because they feel like their vote doesnt count. 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). Only Nebraska and Maine do not. 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. 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 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. This brings us to 196 of the 270 electoral votes needed to activate the pact. In fact, let's tally up all the votes cast for president between 1932 and 2008. 9. April 8, 2016 National popular vote far better than Electoral College system for choosing presidents, Stanford professors say.