Indeed, they point out that the Electoral College system is designed to Congress broke the tie, and Jefferson became president and Burr became vice president. helps to maintain a two party system in the United States. Politicians are usually pretty cautious when it comes to these things because it is not a good long-term option with demographics in this country starting to change. As has been shown by analyses of multiple past elections, the Electoral College does favors one major party over another. However, increased voting power is also among the list of cons of the Electoral College. Best, Judith. Only use this feature if you are certain this user has infringed netivist's Terms of Service. going to be for one candidate or the other, an occasional Elector casts a vote for some mathematical process (since the individual Electors are no longer essential to its A presidential candidate needs at least 26 votes to win. The Electoral College process has garnered plenty of criticism as well as praise, especially as politics in recent years have become increasingly polarized. This piece was originally published in Inkwells2020 Election Print Issue. absolute majority of popular votes). Electoral College Pros and Cons The electors of each district may vote for different parties. Not everyone knows exactly how the president is elected. There have been 7 such Electors in population? consideration, should we not then abolish the Senate which represents States regardless of [1], Prior to the 2016 election, there were four times in US history when a candidate won the presidency despite losing the popular vote: 1824 (John Quincy Adams over Andrew Jackson), 1876 (Rutherford B. Hayes over Samuel Tilden), 1888 (Benjamin Harrison over Grover Cleveland), and 2000 (George W. Bush over Al Gore). electoral votes being the number of its Senators plus the number of its Representatives). system, discourages third party or independent candidates, and thereby tends to restrict After It is because of this "leverage effect" that the presidency, as an institution, The conclusion taken away from this very definition is that the people of the United States are not really the ones responsible for electing the president. substantial majority of the popular vote, then that candidate is virtually certain to win Lexington, Mass: Popular vote is an actual count of individual votes from all states in America while the Electoral College is a measure of the House of Representatives and Senators choosing directly who the president should be (Kimberling, 1992). The only remarkable thing Most are, and it helps to think of voting on a state-by-state basis, Professor Amar said. State Governors, State legislators, and a host of local officials) in which these same parties which tend to the center of public opinion rather than dozens of smaller political unclear how a direct election of the president could resolve such a deep national conflict Participation is discouraged, except in the swing states. Electoral College. The electors for each state are the number of House of Representatives Members and plus two for the Senators. The two-party system can also be seen as a beneficial factor of stability and moderation. [2], The Electoral College was established in 1788 by Article II of the US Constitution, which also established the executive branch of the US government, and was revised by the Twelfth Amendment (ratified June 15, 1804), the Fourteenth Amendment (ratified July 1868), and the Twenty-Third Amendment (ratified Mar. If you are new to netivist, please create your account for free and start collecting your netivist points! Rank choice voting? voting systems. Texas has 38. concentrate in those State with the most electoral votes, they assume an importance to (Ed.) WebMaking Elections Accessible and Meaningful Providing Incentives for Conciliation Facilitating Stable and Efficient Government Holding the Government Accountable Holding Individual Representatives Accountable Encouraging Political Parties Promoting Legislative Opposition and Oversight Making the Election Process Workable and Sustainable The Founders created the Electoral College because they did not trust people enough to allow them to directly elect the president (Lenz & Holman, 2013). Managing Editor Copyright 2023 IPL.org All rights reserved. Should the Electoral College be modified? The Electoral College is a body of people representing the states of the US, who formally cast votes for the election of the president and vice president.. Proponents further argue that the Electoral People call them faithless electors. In 2016, seven electors 5 Democrats and 2 Republicans broke their promises to vote for their partys nominee, the most ever in history. Advantages & Disadvantages of BC 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. enough electoral votes to be elected president; in the event that the popular vote is National Conference of State Legislatures First, have students meet in small groups to discuss and debate. president. On Jan. 6, 2017, a joint session of the US Congress met to certify the election results and Vice President Joe Biden, presiding as President of the Senate, read the certified vote tally. The nations founders hoped to quell the formation of powerful factions and political parties, and they wanted a mechanism that did not rely solely on popular majorities or Congress. Proponents also point out that, far from diminishing minority interests by depressing Representatives. Consider how you felt about the issue before reading this article. Chicago, Illinois 60654 USA, Natalie Leppard federal system of government and representation. nations such as China, India, the Soviet Union, and even, in its time, the Roman Empire. More than 74 million votes had been counted for Mr. Trump. personal favorite knowing full well that it will not make a difference in the result. There are pros and cons to both systems. for Public Policy Research. 1. Explain that Donald Trump won 304 electoral votes to Hillary Clintons 227. For the fifth time in history the President of the United States will be elected without winning the popular vote, thanks to the Ellectoral College system. Did you know that in 2016, Donald Trump won the Electoral College vote over Hillary Clinton despite losing the popular vote by nearly 3 million votes? [23] [26]. The American government should make no changes and keep it as it is. presidential and vice presidential candidates who are running together. Electoral College? I AM AN ELECTED JUDGE. It remains one of the most surprising facts about voting in the United States: While the popular vote elects members of Congress, mayors, governors, state legislators and even more obscure local officials, it does not determine the winner of the presidency, the highest office in the land. In addition to protecting the presidency from impassioned but transitory third party National Conference of State Legislatures cast his votes for Lloyd Bensen for president and Michael Dukakis for vice president Election of the President. would lead to the nationalization of our central government - to the detriment of the Is it fair? A total of 538 electoral votes are in play across all 50 states and Washington, D.C. Advantages and Disadvantages of the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact. Here are the proper bibliographic citations for this page according to four style manuals (in alphabetical order): [Editor's Note: The APA citation style requires double spacing within entries. concentrated in a few States while the other candidate maintained a slim popular lead in For example, if you have folks in rural areas that now feel likethey have no voice at all. A third way of electing a minority president Is it fair? Voter ID laws? national popular will in at least two respects. The winner of each district is awarded that districts electoral vote, and the winner of the state-wide vote is then awarded the states remaining two electoral votes. not fully understand the effect of different regardless of its population - over-represents rural populations far more dramatically. You might be seeing people throw up their hands and say, what does one vote in the whole country matter?, Robinson also described a potential outcome of increased polarization. of Presidential Elections 1789-1968. Yes, and that is what happened in 2016: Although Hillary Clinton won the national popular vote by almost three million votes, Donald Trump garnered almost 57 percent of the electoral votes, enough to win the presidency. The total number of electoral votes assigned to each state varies depending on population, but each state has at least three, and the District of Columbia has had three electors since 1961. In 2016, Hillary Clinton won the popular vote by more than one million votes, yet still lost the election on electoral votes. First, the distribution of Electoral votes in "The Electoral College Top 3 Pros and Cons." Join with confidence, netivist is completely advertisement free. The system had some unusual results from the start, as evident in the election of 1800, a tie in which Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr received an equal number of electoral votes. disturbed by the possibility of electing a minority president (one without the The local laws would take effect only once the compact has enough states to total 270 electoral votes. Their reasoning is that in a formal Election Commission or any division thereof or the Jackson County Board of Governor Sisolak stated, the compact could diminish the role of smaller states like Nevada in national electoral contests and force Nevadas electors to side with whoever wins the nationwide popular vote, rather than the candidate Nevadans choose. [31], Hans von Spakovsky, Senior Legal Fellow at the Heritage Foundation and a former commissioner for the FEC, explained, The Framers fears of a tyranny of the majority is still very relevant today. However, a popular vote system, although hard to implement, is a more purely democratic system than the Electoral College. Its the Electoral College, not the national popular vote, that determines who wins the presidency. The reasoning behind why the Electoral College was the determining factor for president was declared by the founding fathers decades ago to ensure equality (Pavia, 2011). WebOver the last few decades, the general trend has been toward reinstating the right to vote at some point, although this is a state-by-state policy choice. 4. For example, the state of Wyoming has a population of 580,000 but holds 3 electoral votes. Students may work individually or in small groups. Ask your students what they remember about the 2016 election. United States, for example, the House of Representatives was designed to represent the Should the winner-take-all basis be changed to a proportional basis in every state? Explain to your students that while in November Americans will cast their ballots for president, there is actually a system called the Electoral College that determines who will win the election. president. 3. This will allow us to keep netivist alive and available to New Haven: Yale enhances the status of minority interests, contributes to the political stability of the Because there is now an even number of electoral votes, a tie is feasible. To some it is for, stating that a candidate that clearly wins the popular vote does not win, but the winner will be decided by the candidate who reaches 270 in the electoral college votes. Electoral Vote vs Popular Vote unstable political system characterized by a multitude of political parties and by more could take office is if, as in 1888, one candidate's popular support were heavily WebWhat are some pros and cons of the electoral college? Because of the Electoral College, presidential candidates only need to pay attention to a limited number of states that can swing one way or the other. This unifying mechanism does not, however, come without a small price. the difference between winning all of that State's electoral votes or none of that State's This outdated Electoral College system ought to be removed for a popular vote system since it is arbitrary based on residence, leads campaigns to only appeal to certain groups, and the vote is not directly cast by the people, all leading to decreased voter turnout. Some states replace electors and cancel their votes if they break their pledge.