Do you think any of these arguments, or others, are convincing reasons for preserving the Electoral College as it stands now? It also prevents candidates from going into states where the electorate typically votes for the other party. Not this year. The basis for the Electoral College is found inArticle II, Section 1of the Constitution, which spells out how the president shall be chosen. Swing or battleground states are mere accidents of geography. This means that every election, 80 percent of American voters, roughly 100 million people, get ignored. Getting rid of the Electoral College would radicalize politics. 6. If a candidate wins the popular vote in a state, even by a single vote, they get all of that states electoral votes. And while Electoral College winning/popular vote losing presidents are formally and technically legitimate holders of the office, the perception that a broken system is anti-democratic and anti-majoritarian can have wide-reaching, penetrating, long-term consequences for the health of a democracy. Mr. Wegman argues that reforming the Electoral College isnt a partisan issue its a fairness issue. Three happened in the 19th century; none in the 20th century and two in the 21st century. Using bots can streamline some law firm work, American Bar Association Jacob Levy, of McGill University, disagreed with that argument. Do you support this movement? But the fact is that we are now one country, whereas in 1789 we were 13 colonies desperately trying to hold onto some semblance of their independencehence a political deal was struck that now threatens the very democracy for which they were trying to create a lasting framework. When a state passes legislation to join the National Popular Vote Compact, it compels the state to award its electoral votes to whomever wins the national popular vote, regardless of which candidate won in that state. No more Electoral College? Here's how campaigning might change Third, a national election might provide a cure for the delegitimation of presidential authority that has afflicted the last three presidencies. Think about it. Click the links below for answers to these frequently asked questions. The pact raises questions of its own for democracy: It creates a situation in which voters in, for example, Colorado, may cast most of their votes for the Democrat in a presidential race but the state might wind up giving its electors to the Republican depending on the national outcome. As American leadership falters, scholars say, autocrats are on the rise. Not one was a first-rank president, but their selection did not seriously injure the democratic character of our system. Source: Daily Kos Elections. This system allows minorities to have a bigger microphone for their concerns as well. Instead of having a regional focus that incorporates specific campaigning elements, there would be a national campaign instead. The Constitution originally stipulated that the top vote-getter chosen by these electors would become president and the individual with the second-most votes would be vice president. For instance, in 1900 New York was the biggest state in the union with 7,268,894 people and the state with the median population, Louisiana, had 1,381,625 people. Still, Levy said if he had to bet on whether the U.S. will still be using the Electoral College in 20 years he thinks it will. Hillary Clinton won the popular vote by 2,868,686 and yet lost the Electoral College vote: 304 for Trump and 227 for Clinton. But reforming the Electoral College does not rank high among our national problems. In each case, the number of faithless electors who exercised that behavior would not have had a meaningful impact on the outcome. FiveThirtyEight polls-only forecast have predicted. 1. Back in 1787, when the delegates to the Constitutional Convention were trying to figure out how the President should be chosen, some wanted the Congress to choose, and . Does It Need to Be Fixed? And the most recent major occasion took place in 1969, 1970, when there was a strong bipartisan effort to abolish the electoral college and have us utilize a national popular vote. "It really does over-represent some sparsely populated states, and it provides some skew and bias to our system that I just don't think is healthy anymore," said Paul Gronke, a political scientist at Reed College. This process means that each candidate must speak with the entire country instead of visiting the largest cities as a way to solicit for votes. What Is the Electoral College and Why Was It Created? - History Fully overhauling the way the president is selected would take a Constitutional amendment, which would require the votes of two-thirds of the U.S. House of Representatives, two-thirds of the Senate, and three-fourths of the states. The effort in Congress to overhaul America's election system followed the contentious 1968 presidential contest. But the court has not tackled to what extent states can enforce such a pledge. 260, February 19, 2020, p. 9, https://www.heritage.org/election-integrity/report/destroying-the-electoral-college-the-anti-federalist-national-popular-0. This reflects how uncommon it is to reach the Oval Office without winning the popular vote; it has only happened four times in United States history. In 2000 Vice President Al Gore won the popular vote against Governor George W. Bush by 543,895. Stanford University. Even though proponents of the Electoral College want it to stay so that every state can have a specific say in the outcome of the election, the candidates are already starting to behave in the same ways that people fear they would when targeting a majority population groups. 3. Today the pact has the support of states and Washington D.C. that total 181 electoral votes, largely those that have gone for Democrats in recent years. It is true that the Electoral College no longer serves its original purposes, and that it creates a grave risk that a candidate not favored by a majority of the people will, from time to time, be elected president. Its no wonder the candidates fixate on issues that matter to specific groups of voters in swing states, like fracking in Pennsylvania This is my 13th visit. or prescription drug benefits in Florida. In fact, there is already a movement brewing among states to agree to award their electors to whichever candidate wins the national popular vote. The Electoral College has been the subject of debate since it was first implemented centuries ago, but when George W. Bush won the presidential election in 2000 despite Al Gore winning the popular vote, controversy surrounding the institution rose to a much more intense degree. Warren says she wants to get rid of the Electoral College, and vote for president using a national popular vote. The interests of the minority would no longer receive protection. There have been a total of five candidates who have won the popular vote but lost in the Electoral College, with the most recent cases occurring in the 2016 and 2000 . Then in 2016, Donald Trump won the Electoral College despite receiving 2.1% less of the popular vote. Polls from FiveThirtyEight polls-only forecast have predicted. But after the presidential election in 1800 resulted in an acrimonious tie vote between Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr, the12th Amendmentwas ratified in 1804. The way the Electoral College actually functions today isnt even enshrined in the Constitution. The two parties have chosen the same year in which to nominate a person whom large numbers of Americans, probably a majority, regard as unfit (though not for the same reason). The crisis of 1824 then, represented really the collapse of the old system, and an effort to re-institute it in other terms. The electors can vote their conscience as well, refusing to follow what their state elections guide them to do. Popular vote is a direct vote. Under the current plan, states that join will not activate the compact until enough states have joined to total 270 electoral votes. Well, American democracy operates on a whole collection of cherished ideas and practices, but our system also includes some dusty old artifacts from its founding two centuries ago. There are also circumstances where a majority of electors might not be available, which would throw the results of the election into the House of Representatives. This spring, numerous candidates for president expressed support for either abolishing or changing the Electoral College, which ultimately picks the U.S. president. 1. After reading the article and watching the video, what questions do you have for Mr. Wegman? We have an Electoral College because thats what the founders added to the Constitution at the last minute. Alexander Hamilton was a significant supporter of the Electoral College. It wasnt the first time a president won by losing or the second or even the fourth. Here are the yea and the nay. As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. Some laws simply state that electors must vote for the candidate of the party they represent; others require electors to sign an oath or a pledge. Map. Americas auto industry auto industry auto industry At least in part because its located mostly in swing states, like Michigan and Ohio, states whose electoral votes he needed to win. Getting Rid Of The Electoral College Isn't Easy - Bustle It is within a states authority under Article II, Section 1 to impose a fine on electors for failing to uphold their pledge, the court said in an 8-1 opinion. There would need to be a Constitutional amendment if the compact idea doesnt work. That line garnered one of her largest roars of applause for the evening. So it's possible for a candidate to win more votes overall across the country than a rival but not be inaugurated because of insufficient support from the Electoral College: a scenario that has occurred twice in the past two decades. What happens if the President-elect fails to qualify before inauguration? For one thing, slavery. Remember what we said back in Myth No. Faith in elections, trust in government, and the legitimacy of elected officials and the offices they hold will be challenged by a system that consistently turns its back on the will of the voters. But get this, the way the Electoral College actually functions today isnt even enshrined in the Constitution. The chances of a recount would increase dramatically with election. It doesnt. Note: A previous version of this post stated that awarding 2 electoral votes per state (plus D.C.) to the national popular vote winner would form a baseline of 138 votes. This is clear in polling on the topic. Why, or why not? But the Electoral College is worse than merely useless. An amendment hasn't been adopted since the 27th, in 1992, and one hasn't been adopted relatively quickly since the 26th, which took 100 days from proposal to adoption in 1971. US election 2020: What is the electoral college? - BBC News Why? As a result, most are considered safe, that is, comfortably in hand for one party or the other. What happens if a candidate with electoral votes dies or becomes It said that the Colorado secretary of state erred in removing an elector who cast his vote for then-Ohio Gov. But reforming the Electoral College does not rank high among our national problems. That means that the national winner would start out with 102 Electoral College votes. In fact, lets tally up all the votes cast for president between 1932 and 2008. But experts say reforming this practice isn't likely anytime soon for a number of reasons. This issue exists in the Electoral College when the rural states face off with the urban ones. It doesnt have to be this way. In 2016, Donald Trump won the White House by earning a majority of electoral votes, even though almost three million more Americans voted for Hillary Clinton. Kitty on Twitter: "RT @Valkary: THE ELECTORAL COLLEGE The current system is weighted too heavily in favor of celebrity appeal, demagogic displays and appeals to narrow special interests. Having the states play an autonomous role in presidential elections, it is said, reinforces the division of governing authority between the nation and the states. The framers of the Constitution set up the Electoral College for a number of different reasons. In the video above, Mr. Wegman argues that the Electoral College is undemocratic. The Electoral College was created by the framers of the U.S In part, that is because the Electoral College is constitutionally mandated, and abolishing it would require a constitutional amendment. Thats not true either. Third, defenders of the Electoral College also claim that it supports the underlying value of federalism. Today about 1.3% of those employed in the United States work directly in agriculture, and they manage to feed the entire country and beyond. In a truly national election, parties and candidates would have the incentive to turn out their votes wherever they were, fostering a deeper sense of engagement across the whole population. Candidates had to go to each state to talk about what they wanted to do for the country because there was no other way to let people know what was happening. The 2010 census is therefore valid for the 2012, 2016, and 2020 Presidential elections. A Constitutional Amendment to Abolish the Electoral College How the Electoral College helps preserve our constitutional system. But the Constitution and the courts have allowed the states some leeway to make changes to how their Electoral College representatives are chosen. Rural Americans would be serfs if we abolished the Electoral College Seventy percent of Americans between the ages of 18-29 said that the president should be chosen through a popular vote model, while just 56 percent of those over the age of 65 agreed. In the video above, we delve into the reasons people give for keeping the Electoral College and why theyre wrong. Started in the mid-2000s, the NPVIC is a fairly straightforward system that capitalizes on the constitutional guarantee that states are free to determine the manner in which they award their electoral votes. It gives a slight edge to candidates with broad-based support in many states over those who rack up huge majorities in just a few large states. George W. Bush won the Electoral College in 2000 even though he received 0.5% less of the popular vote against Al Gore. This has happened five times in American history. That means the information receives an update every 10 years. [1] Only when they sign the certificate of ascertainment and the votes are tallied in the United States Congress is the presidential race officially over. Redirecting to https://m.startribune.com/one-clear-result-of-the-2020-election-at-last-let-s-abolish-the-electoral-college/. What would happen if the Electoral College was eliminated? Because the Electoral College is based on the structure of state populations and representation in the House, some people have a vote that carries more weight per delegate than others. This is one reason why they created checks and balances, including the Electoral College. If, say, environmental sustainability or abortion or the Second Amendment is your dominant concern, it does not matter whether you live in Wyoming or California, Pennsylvania or Delaware. Presidential candidate Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., at an organizing event in February. Alternative 2: Two electoral votes to national popular vote winner; remainder apportioned by congressional district, *Each of these races included faithless electors, such that the total of electoral votes, as shown, does not equal 538. But the reality is, right now neither the small states nor the big ones have the voice they should. That is not to say the Electoral College is without its advantages. If the Electoral College was eliminated, the power to elect the President would rest solely in the hands of a few of our largest states and cities, greatly diminishing the voice of smaller populated states. The truth is . Even though some Americans dont like the gridlock that a two-party system creates, the electoral college keeps this design healthy with each 4-year cycle. Younger voters also tended to support abolishing the Electoral College. Maine and Nebraska, however, have enacted the congressional district method, which allocates one electoral vote to the winner of the popular vote in each state-drawn district. Currently, 15 states and DC have approved the NPVIC. Abolishing the Electoral College: Since the year 2000, there have been five presidential elections. The NPV would effectively abolish the Electoral College and co-opt even those states who did not join the compact into accepting an electoral regime they never agreed to or approved. It was replaced by party conventions, which eventually were replaced (almost) with strings of single or multiple state primaries and caucuses. In this video excerpt from our Oct. 22 panel, Mr. Wegman argues that states should join the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact, a plan to guarantee that the candidate who receives the most popular votes across all 50 states and the District of Columbia wins the presidency. Frances C. Arrillaga Alumni Center The effect is to erase all the voters in that state who didnt vote for the top candidate. Four of the electors came from the state of Washington. The election, as Mr. Trump would say though not for the right reasons is rigged. The supporters of the NPV are not hiding their goal: They are trying to circumvent the AK constitutional amendment process and manipulate the Electoral College out of existence.11.
Examples Of Nonconformity In Pop Culture,
National Aboriginal Consultative Committee,
Somatic Symptom Disorder Va Rating,
Topamax Food Tastes Weird,
Articles W