cons of the national popular vote plan
The candidate who placed second in the popular vote was elected in 2016, 2000, 1888, 1876, and 1824. cons of the national popular vote planchicago religious demographics. Our state will likely vote overwhelmingly for the Republican challenger to Barack Obama in November. A close election would trigger the need for a full recount. It would be a national mandate to put someone in office, even if that winning candidate received less than 50% of the vote. 2. The National Bonus Plan maintains the Electoral College voting system but adds 102 bonus electoral votes to the existing 538 votes. An individuals vote doesnt make a difference when it is counted against the votes of the delegates in the House of Representatives and Senate. 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. Longley, Robert. A plan to enact the National Popular Vote was introduced in the Michigan Legislature on Wednesday. To take effect, the National Popular Vote bill must be enacted by the state legislatures of states controlling a total of 270 electoral votes - a majority of the overall 538 electoral votes and the number currently required to elect a president. 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. 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. You are also agreeing to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. That principle should be expanded to presidential elections. All in all, the Electoral College causes many problems that seem unfair to American voters during such an important election. In 2016, Gary Johnson received 4.48 million votes and 0 electoral votes, but the potential is always there for this to happen. Rebekah Richards is a professional writer with work published in the "Atlanta Journal-Constitution," "Brandeis University Law Journal" and online at tolerance.org. and our 1. 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. And thats not how it should be in a democracy. The alternative view of democracy is more complex; it is one that includes but is not limited to the pursuit of equality. The issue raised by the National Popular Vote campaign is fundamental: What kind of a democracy should America be? Home| Government| Elections| Electoral College| Electoral College Pros And Cons. There would be a reduced need to build coalitions. Although the 20th Amendment to the Constitution provides clarity to this situation, that process is based on the electoral college. In 6 Elections, 2 Near-Misses (2020, 2004) and 2 Second-Place Presidents (2016, 2000) National Popular Vote Has Been Enacted into Law in 16 Jurisdictions with 195 Electoral Votes. 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. It awards all the bonus votes to the winner of the popular vote. It would eliminate superfluous votes. A popular vote structure would virtually eliminate the idea of a third-party candidate having a chance in an election. Second, some believe itll intensify election problems, such as illegally extended voting hours or irregularly high voter turnout (Richards). These are the states that may go to either major party candidate in the election. 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. That would give the Compact states only 3 days( and two of those days were weekend days) to certify their state votes. 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. By rejecting non-essential cookies, Reddit may still use certain cookies to ensure the proper functionality of our platform. It fails to reach the ideal of one-person one-vote. More attention is given to the swing states, such as Florida and Iowa, which causes the third problem the Electoral College can cause. Nevada passed the legislation in 2019, but Gov. 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. 12th Amendment: Fixing the Electoral College, What Is Majoritarianism? It happened once, in 1876. 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. Although many supporters of the electoral college argue that a two-party political system is more stable, some critics counter that having more than two parties would give Americans more choice. That's almost 1.5 billion . The National Bonus Plan was proposed by historian Arthur Schlesinger, Jr. But the national popular vote plan doesn't require a . 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. 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. "The National Popular Vote Plan." Regional candidates could secure enough votes to win a national election. Around six-in-ten U.S. adults (63%) say the way the president is elected should be changed so that the winner of the popular vote nationwide wins the presidency, while 35% favor keeping the current Electoral College system, according to a Pew Research Center survey conducted June 27-July 4, 2022. This divide creates natural divisions between groups of people who both support their country, but in different ways. 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 cost of a presidential election in the United States is already several billion dollars. 2015. Change), You are commenting using your Twitter account. 1. For the popular vote, however, Hillary Clinton received 65.8 million votes, while Donald Trump received 62.9 million votes. That means the cost of counting all the votes would be duplicated. This brings us to 196 of the 270 (73%) electoral votes needed to activate the pact just 74 votes away. Constitutional Amendment to Guarantee the Right to Vote for All U.S. Citizens. 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). Others may struggle to meet higher than expected voter turnout levels. 6. 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. (LogOut/ It is perhaps the most simplistic form of an election. 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. 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. And that would lead to chaos in how political parties campaign for president and could also undermine the legitimacy of the process. The National Popular Vote Plan. cons of the national popular vote plan. 9. 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. 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, How Political Party Convention Delegates are Chosen, What Is a Caucus? The electoral college encourages a two-party system and rewards candidates who have broad appeal. Here are the essential pros and cons of popular vote elections to examine. 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. Hillary Clinton, but won the electoral vote to become the 45thPresident of the United States. tobin james the blend 2017 ; real estate marketing solutions; cons of the national popular vote plan; lassi kefalonia shops cons of the national popular vote plan The years-old effort is slowly making its way through state legislatures in hopes of changing the way The use of the Electoral College has been the only approach the U.S. has used to gain a President, but this way has generated numerous issues. 3. Among the others: By its very size and scope, a national direct election will lead to nothing more than a national media campaign, which would propel the parties' media consultants to inflict upon the entire nation what has been heretofore limited to the so-called battleground states: an ever-escalating, distorted arms race of tit-for-tat unanswerable attack advertising polluting the airwaves, denigrating every candidate and eroding citizen faith in their leaders and the political process as a whole. Imagine a scenario where a presidential candidate focuses on Los Angeles, New York City, Portland, OR and Seattle. . Cons of Electoral College. 4. 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. That means a candidate who receives a majority of their votes in a high-delegate state, such as California, could make a dramatic impact on the rest of the election. List of the Cons of Using the Popular Vote 1. 4. Then, election officials in all participating states would choose the electors sworn to support thepresidential candidate who received the largest number of popular votes in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. In theory we could change how we elect our president every four years. Louisiana voters should decide who receives Louisiana's electoral votes. The votes of those who do not live in closely divided battleground states effectively count less. A switch to the popular vote would eliminate the concept of a battleground state because the issue would be more on issues than states. In Maine, both houses of the legislature passed the bill in 2019, but it failed at the final enactment step. 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. 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. http://www.nationalpopularvote.com/. Lastly, the biggest problem that the Electoral College produces is the reality that a persons vote really doesnt matter (Black). That view of democracy recognizes the existence and desirability of organized interests and enshrines that principle under the concept of pluralism. When you visit the site, Dotdash Meredith and its partners may store or retrieve information on your browser, mostly in the form of cookies. Also the NPV Compact allows states to withdraw from the compact as late as four months before an election. Inside Ohio or Florida, to pick two examples, the big cities do not receive all the attention, and they certainly do not control the outcome. That means every state is allowed a minimum of 3 electoral votes. As of July 2020, a National Popular Vote bill has been signed into law in 16 states controlling a total of 196 electoral votes, including 4 small states, 8 medium-sized states, 3 big states (California, Illinois, and New York), and the District of Columbia. Today, the fact that Nebraska and Maine do not use the winner-take-all system serves as proof that modifying the Electoral College system, as proposed by the National Popular Vote plan is constitutional and does not require a constitutional amendment. If that was to take place, America could potentially face the same issues it is facing now. This text is available online and is used for gudiance and inspiration, We use cookies to give you the best experience possible. The danger of NPV is that it will undermine the complex and vital underpinnings of American democracy. 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. Is the National Popular Vote Plan Constitutional? In states with large population centers, individual voters have less power than voters in smaller states. More people live in urban regions, which means they would have a constant sway over the election. PBS: What does voter turnout tell us about the 2016 election. Start and finish your paper with ease. In the 2016 election, "swing states" that might vote Republican or Democrat like Wisconsin were targets of candidates Donald J. Trump and Hillary R. Clinton. Ken Bickers. But don't forget, Bush won the popular vote four years later by three million votes. It has been enacted into law in 11 states with 165 electoral votes, and will take effect when enacted by states with 105 more. Should that happen, then the final decision of who gets to serve as President of the United States is taken away from individual voters. National Popular Vote compact pros and cons. This has occurred in only four of the 58 presidential . Bosque de Palabras Under the electoral college system, if a state consistently pulls as leaning to one party, someone who supports the other party may not vote because they feel like there isnt a need to do so. 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. But sometime in the future the popular vote will change back and lean Republican. 6. 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. It could encourage voter turnout. 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. 9. Candidates feel they either cant win or lose with the votes from these states. 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. 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 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. Watch out! 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. Thats the way it has been in this country for a long time. 622 By John Samples The National Popular Vote plan (NPV), introduced in more than 40 states, and adopted. 3. Do you have information you want to share with HuffPost. There are logistical issues that are managed at the local level in each election. 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. But with the NPV Compact a change in party control of just one or two states could restore the old system of electing the president and then four years later it could be changed back. Since the Constitution and the Bill of Rights became governing documents in the United States, there have only been 17 amendments made to it. 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. 5. This blog post is a joint effort with Leslie Francis, former executive director of the Democratic National Committee and Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. 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. 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. I fear that most, if not all, of the states signing onto the NPV Compact will be just blue states. Advantages and Disadvantages of the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact In the 2016 Presidential Election if the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact had been in effect the winner of the national popular vote, Hillary Clinton, would have become president instead of Donald Trump. And thats not how it should be in a democracy. 3. First it would be relatively easy to implement. 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 winner would receive all of the compact states electoral votes, giving them at least the necessary 270 to win the White House. In fact, let's tally up all the votes cast for president between 1932 and 2008. 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. Even the minority party wouldnt be encouraged to negotiate because they could simply stall until the next election. Maine and Nebraska are the only two states that are not affected by this approach. Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/the-national-popular-vote-plan-3322047. Under the Electoral College system, voters in states that are overwhelmingly in support of one candidate might feel like their vote is unimportant. 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. The horror of a potential national recount is only one of the dangers direct presidential elections poses. In a closely contested direct popular election, every precinct across the country might require close examination, rather than a handful of states or precincts. 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). 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. During the 2012 elections, 38 states, also known as spectator states, were ignored and forgotten. The bill has crossed paths with 36 legislative chambers and has been sponsored or voted for by 3,112 state legislators (National Popular Vote). For the 7 presidential elections between 1992-2016, the Republican candidate has won the Electoral college 3 times. Just another site cons of the national popular vote plan . 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. 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. Where the National Popular Vote Plan Stands. Once enacted, the participating states would cast all of their electoral votes for the presidential candidate winning the nationwide popular vote, thus ensuring that candidate the required 270 electoral votes. 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). It would eliminate the Congressional provisions for a non-majority election. A Critique of the National Popular Vote October 13, 2008 Policy Analysis No. 6. 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. When you cast your ballot, you're not actually voting directly for your favored presidential candidate. But NPV could force our electors to disregard the wishes of the . June 7, 2022 . For example, if a state used NPV and voted for candidate A, but candidate B received the most votes nationwide, the state would allocate its presidential electors to candidate B. Dont know what Ranked Choice Voting is? That would increase the amount of polarization being experienced in politics today because there would be less of a need to compromise. The states' approval of the compact is a victory for democracy and the principle of "one person, one vote." The electoral college leads to a heavy emphasis on swing states and also typically over-represents citizens in rural states. on Advantages and Disadvantages of the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact, Follow All U.S. Citizens Should Vote. That effectively means that votes in the the 75% of the country that are in swing states effectively dont count at all. 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. 10 Apr. 15 states and Washington, D.C. have joined the National Popular Vote compact. The Electoral College distorts presidential campaigns . A simple change in the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact could fix the flaw and still provide the benefits of a popular election. Not only it already happened five times, but in theory, a candidate could win the presidency with only 22% of the popular vote in a two-candidates race. It would reduce diversity in the election structures. 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. (2021, Jun 14). on WordPress.com. After all, the Electoral College makes it possible that a candidate who wins the majority of the votes could still lose the election. Steve Sisolak vetoed it. It would eliminate the threat of a faithless elector. The NPVC is a proposed interstate compact in which the signatory states agree that they will appoint their presidential electors in accordance with the national popular vote rather than their own state electorate's vote. Voters in spectator states, including five of the nations 10 most populous states (California, Texas, New York, Illinois, and New Jersey), and 12 of the 13 least populous states (all but New Hampshire) have no real incentive to go to the polls as their votes do not affect the outcome of the election. 4. Colorado is on the verge of joining a nationwide movement that could eventually change how we choose the next president of the United States. 2023 BuzzFeed, Inc. All rights reserved. Surprisingly enough, the National Popular Vote bill could possibly bring forth some problems. 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. Probably the NPV Compact would be enacted into law with as little as a simple majority of the states and possibly even less. With a popular vote in place, each election win would be decreed a mandate to follow the platform of the winning party. The first advantage allows for electoral votes to be fairer than the Electoral College (Richards). Some critics argue that more people would vote in a direct popular election, according to the University of the Pacific. 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. And unlike direct elections, either would provide an incentive for grass-roots activity, coalition building and enhanced citizen participation. 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. However, Hilary Clinton won 2.6 million more popular votes nationwide than Donald Trump. In the case of a tie, there are contingencies in place to determine which person will serve in the elected office. Candidates feel these states need a little bit more of their attention and apply pressure to supply these states with solutions to their problems in order to gain their vote. Instead, each state and Washington D.C. is assigned a certain number of electoral votes based on its population. Or the opposite could be true. Today, many electors are bound to vote according to their states' popular vote results, and those who aren't almost always do. Robert Longley is a U.S. government and history expert with over 30 years of experience in municipal government and urban planning. 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 A popular vote system would significantly impact voters and turnout. [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 plan for a national popular vote could undermine the . The Electoral College system, however imperfect, serves this broader view of democracy. This would happen in the extremely unlikely situation where this candidate would win just for one vote in some . During the 2012 elections, 38 states, also known as spectator states, were ignored and forgotten. This advance is referred to as the winner-take-all approach. Every state is allocated several votes according to the number of senators and representatives in its U.S. Congressional delegation. 2. How Many Electoral Votes Does a Candidate Need to Win? 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. Because of the winner-take-all rule, a candidate can be elected president without winning the most popular votes nationwide. All samples were added by students. Going to the popular vote would eliminate this issue altogether. 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). There are pros and cons to both systems. If a popular vote were allowed to declare a winner instead, it wouldnt be through a state-by-state counting of electoral votes.
cons of the national popular vote plan