cons of the national popular vote plan cons of the national popular vote plan

41 States (with 80% of U.S. population) will be Ignored in the 2024 Presidential Election. 13 Early College High School Pros and Cons, 18 Major Advantages and Disadvantages of the Payback Period, 20 Advantages and Disadvantages of Leasing a Car, 19 Advantages and Disadvantages of Debt Financing, 24 Key Advantages and Disadvantages of a C Corporation, 16 Biggest Advantages and Disadvantages of Mediation, 18 Advantages and Disadvantages of a Gated Community, 17 Big Advantages and Disadvantages of Focus Groups, 17 Key Advantages and Disadvantages of Corporate Bonds, 19 Major Advantages and Disadvantages of Annuities, 17 Biggest Advantages and Disadvantages of Advertising. With the polarization in global politics today, especially in the United States, a switch to the popular vote would likely increase costs even further. Definition and Examples. It has been enacted into law in 11 states with 165 electoral votes, and will take effect when enacted by states with 105 more. The Electoral College system, however imperfect, serves this broader view of democracy. 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. Explains kimberling, william c., and dave leip's . Just 12 Closely Divided Battleground States Got 96% of 2020 Campaign Events. 3. 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. The last amendment, the 27th Amendment to the Constitution, was ratified nearly 200 years after it was originally proposed. In theory that could happen every four years. 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. Secondly, it creates a minimalist depiction in the minds of the candidate towards more than 40 states. If the presidential election were switched to the popular vote, then it would only take about 35% of the vote for a candidate to win. The lack of competition and campaigning in a majority of states owes itself not to the existence of the Electoral College's indirect method of choosing presidents but rather to the winner-take-all method of choosing electors in all but two states. The NPV is a multi-state agreement that, when active, would ensure that the presidential candidate who wins the popular vote nationally also wins in the Electoral College. on WordPress.com. Donald Trump won the presidential election by securing 304 electoral votes, compared to Hillary Clintons 227 electoral votes. The Supreme Court has said in local and state elections voting should be based on the principle of one person one vote. Thats a bank of about 14 million potential voters that reliably vote as a majority for Democratic candidates. The Electoral College was established in the Constitution to protect minority interests and mitigate the possibility of a regional candidate. Although moving to a popular vote election would balance the weight of each vote, it would also create more sway in larger population states. Unexpected emergencies would be difficult to handle. 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. Note: Today we are in a phase where the popular vote in presidential elections leans Democratic. In each instance the republic has survived, and democracy has prospered despite the challenges presented. There are alternatives to winner-take-all that do not involve abandoning the positive aspects of the Electoral College. 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. And that would undermine the legitimacy of the NPV among those people. It would eliminate the threat of a faithless elector. By continuing well assume youre on board with our, https://samploon.com/electoral-college-and-national-popular-vote-pros-and-cons/, Select a writer from a large pool of experts. It is perhaps the most simplistic form of an election. If this happens many people in the red states will not feel that the change is legitimate even if its legal and technically constitutional. Yet, by May 2021, 15 states and Washington, D.C., had signed onto the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact. And thats not how it should be in a democracy. Bush and Al Gore (Black). 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. List of the Cons of Proportional Representation. The states' approval of the compact is a victory for democracy and the principle of "one person, one vote." F. Kennedy, Richard Nixon, Bill Clinton and George W. Bush were elected with less than a majority of the votes cast. The National Bonus Plan was proposed by historian Arthur Schlesinger, Jr. 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. A simple change in the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact could fix the flaw and still provide the benefits of a popular election. 1. The National Popular Vote effort, explained The National Popular Vote effort is now halfway to its goal of electing future presidents via the popular vote, after Rhode Island Gov. It fails to reach the ideal of one-person one-vote. 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. Thats the way it has been in this country for a long time. 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. When a popular vote is held for a national office, the election becomes more about platform issues than local issues. cons of the national popular vote planchicago religious demographics. 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. At the moment, 98 more electoral votes are needed to pass this bill in all 50 states (National Conference of State Legislators). This type of system would give the individual voter a much more significant influence. As a result, the bill will take effect when enacted by states possessing an additional 74 electoral votes. 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. 4. That created a voter value of 2.85. 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. "The National Popular Vote Plan." (2021, Jun 14). 4. 8. 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. The popular vote eliminates this issue too. Some areas may bend the rules of an election by extending voting hours illegally. 2. Is this a solution to first past the post or is it merely reinforcing our current two party system? 8. There would be fewer opportunities to illegally alter the results of an election. On April 15, 2014 Governor Andrew Cuomo of New York State quietly signed into law the National Popular Vote, making New York the 10th state -- along with the District of Columbia -- to support this effort, while also boosting the total numbers to 165 of the 270 electoral votes needed to make a true national popular vote a reality. You 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. 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. 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. It awards all the bonus votes to the winner of the popular vote. 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 . 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. A direct popular election also ensures that citizens' votes have equal weight. The National Bonus Plan maintains the Electoral College voting system but adds 102 bonus electoral votes to the existing 538 votes. The one-vote approach does not align with the way the electoral votes operates. Although the 20th Amendment to the Constitution provides clarity to this situation, that process is based on the electoral college. The time to stop its momentum is now. In Maine, both houses of the legislature passed the bill in 2019, but it failed at the final enactment step. Under the National Popular Vote plan,the compact would take effect only when enabling legislation has been enacted by states collectively possessing a majority of the electoral votes:270 of 538 total. These are the states that may go to either major party candidate in the election. Cookie Notice The second advantage is that the all votes would be equally weighed (Richards). During the 2012 elections, 38 states, also known as spectator states, were ignored and forgotten. PBS: What does voter turnout tell us about the 2016 election. Home| Government| Elections| Electoral College| Electoral College Pros And Cons. 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. However, in the popular vote, Trump only received 62,984,825 votes against Hillary Clinton's 65,853,516 popular votes. Contributors control their own work and posted freely to our site. 6. People are moving to live in like-minded communities more than ever before. During the 2012 elections, 38 states, also known as spectator states, were ignored and forgotten. 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 Constitution specifically leaves details like how the electoral votes are cast up to the states. A Critique of the National Popular Vote October 13, 2008 Policy Analysis No. Proportional Plan How the National Popular Vote Plan Would Work. It is also true that no president since 1824 has received the votes of a majority of the eligible voters and 18 presidents, including Andrew Jackson, Abraham Lincoln, Woodrow Wilson, Harry S. Truman, John. Many cities and school districts, under threat of a lawsuit by a Malibu attorney, have already adopted or are in the process of changing to district elections rather than remaining citywide or . 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. Each vote would affect each candidate instead of being overlooked due to which state those votes would be coming from. Longley, Robert. It would eliminate superfluous votes. 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. List of the Cons of Using the Popular Vote 1. How Many Electoral Votes Does a Candidate Need to Win? The NPV Interstate Compact does not eliminate the very complicated Electoral College system that most voters dont really understand. 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.. And thats not how it should be in a democracy. Proponents of the National Popular Vote fail to understand the most basic facts about the American presidential electoral system. 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. Others may struggle to meet higher than expected voter turnout levels. Con:not Eliminate possibility that loser of the popular vote can still win the electoral vote The Proportional Plan A proposed reform where each presidential candidate would receive the percent of electoral votes that they win from each state Proportional Plan Pro:Possible for loser of popular vote to win presidency. Dont know what Ranked Choice Voting is? Lincoln Chafee (D) made his state the latest to sign on. 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. 9. (2020, December 16). A shift of a relative handful of votes in one or two states would have elected the second-place candidate in six of the last 12 presidential elections. The years-old effort is slowly making its way through state legislatures in hopes of changing the way 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 votes of those who do not live in closely divided battleground states effectively count less. It would reduce the influence of third parties on the U.S. presidential election. The issue raised by the National Popular Vote campaign is fundamental: What kind of a democracy should America be? The bill has passed one chamber in 12 additional states with 96 electoral votes. 5. Currently, the National Popular Vote bill has 172 electoral votes. Common Cause Here are six reasons why legislators should reject this attempt to jettison our electoral system: 1. A popular vote structure would virtually eliminate the idea of a third-party candidate having a chance in an election. 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. Either would provide a reason for both parties to compete in most states because there would be electors to win. pros and cons." dave leip's atlas of u.s. presidential elections. Using the NPV system means that every vote counts the same. June 7, 2022 . That means every state is allowed a minimum of 3 electoral votes. The advantage of this system is that it preserves the preferences of. 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. Under the electoral college system, the candidates which receive the most votes in each state (or district) receive its assigned electoral votes. This brings us to 196 of the 270 electoral votes needed to activate the pact. Heres how. That view of democracy recognizes the existence and desirability of organized interests and enshrines that principle under the concept of pluralism. Some states, such as California and Hawaii, both had their bills vetoed by their governors before it was overridden and enacted by state legislators. 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. First it would be relatively easy to implement. 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. Richards earned a master's degree at Carnegie Mellon University. Feb 25, 2023. 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. 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. The National Popular Vote Bill is not a Democrat or Republican bill. In 2016, Gary Johnson received 4.48 million votes and 0 electoral votes, but the potential is always there for this to happen. Change), You are commenting using your Facebook account. 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.