And thats not how it should be in a democracy. 6. More attention is given to the swing states, such as Florida and Iowa, which causes the third problem the Electoral College can cause. The National Popular Vote Plan. (LogOut/ 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. PBS: What does voter turnout tell us about the 2016 election. Where the National Popular Vote Plan Stands. As a result, the bill will take effect when enacted by states possessing an additional 74 electoral votes. 7. 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 created a voter value of 2.85. That would likely reduce the number of voters who cast a ballot in each election as most people are more concerned about local impacts than national policies. Lastly, the biggest problem that the Electoral College produces is the reality that a persons vote really doesnt matter (Black). Resource allocation would be focused on paid advertising, which would negate the need for grassroots activities. The Congressional District method would allocate electoral votes based on the winner of each congressional district. 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 is not at all clear that it would similarly prosper under the direct election regime being pushed by NPV. 1. Copyright 2023 Leaf Group Ltd. / Leaf Group Education, Explore state by state cost analysis of US colleges in an interactive article, Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections: The Electoral College, University of the Pacific: Electoral College Reform, University of Missouri-Kansas City Law School: The Electoral College. Security would be improved across the country. Longley, Robert. 3. 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 Electoral College is made up of 538 electors and a majority of 270 electoral votes is mandatory to nominate the President. Do you have information you want to share with HuffPost. In countries where the concept of popular votes is in place, every vote has an equal weight regarding the election outcome. Though the original, some would say highly undemocratic, purpose. "The National Popular Vote Plan." It knows that a majoritarianism that produces a plurality is not the voice of a majority of the citizenry. 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. 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. Either would likely produce an electoral vote count closer to the popular vote. NPV is more than a third of the way to its goal. cons of the national popular vote planchicago religious demographics. This has occurred in only four of the 58 presidential . 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.. 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. Is the National Popular Vote Plan Constitutional? That principle should be expanded to presidential elections. Americans are still bent up and flustered on how an individual could lose the popular vote, but still, be given the upper hand in Electoral College votes. A popular vote system would significantly impact voters and turnout. An individuals vote doesnt make a difference when it is counted against the votes of the delegates in the House of Representatives and Senate. Under the Electoral College/Winner-Take-All system votes in small states, like Wyoming or Delaware count double what votes in large states like California or Texas. This would happen in the extremely unlikely situation where this candidate would win just for one vote in some . If you need to flag this entry as abusive. That means the cost of counting all the votes would be duplicated. That would give the Compact states only 3 days( and two of those days were weekend days) to certify their state votes. 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. The Supreme Court has said in local and state elections voting should be based on the principle of one person one vote. Explains kimberling, william c., and dave leip's . The alternative view of democracy is more complex; it is one that includes but is not limited to the pursuit of equality. 3. Ken Bickers. After all, the Electoral College makes it possible that a candidate who wins the majority of the votes could still lose the election. Because of the state Winner-Take-All rules, which arent even part of the Constitution, they can lead to presidential elections where the winner of the election doesnt have the most popular votes. 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. Thats how politics works in America. The first advantage allows for electoral votes to be fairer than the Electoral College (Richards). The horror of a potential national recount is only one of the dangers direct presidential elections poses. Under the electoral college system of voting, the number of representatives a state has in Congress (Senators and Representatives) is the total number of electoral votes it is allowed. That is hardly a mandate for governing, though it would be taken as such. 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. For under its plan, the next time the U.S. has very close national vote, a recount would not be of six million votes in one state but of more than 130 million votes in all states and the District of Columbia, all with their own rules for conducting a recount. 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. The advantage of this system is that it preserves the preferences of. 5. cons of the national popular vote plansuper lemon haze greenhouse. Under the electoral college, the majority votes of states assign electoral votes to a candidate, which then creates a majority total required for a victory. Here are six reasons why legislators should reject this attempt to jettison our electoral system: 1. All other votes cast for that candidate are therefore superfluous. ashburnham school committee; its his baby now political cartoon meaning; softstar primal sawyer This blog post is a joint effort with Leslie Francis, former executive director of the Democratic National Committee and Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. Surprisingly enough, the National Popular Vote bill could possibly bring forth some problems. 5. and our But the much greater danger to American democracy is that direct elections may make it possible for a president to be elected by no more than 30 percent of the vote, regardless of his or her suitability for office, so long as there is sufficient money and a clever media advisor behind the effort. Published: Mar. It would reduce diversity in the election structures. 2023 BuzzFeed, Inc. All rights reserved. Here is the entire text of the proposed "Agreement Among the States to Elect the President by National Popular Vote." Tweet Email this More on The Electoral College: Honorable Steve Cohen A simple change in the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact could fix the flaw and still provide the benefits of a popular election. This advance is referred to as the winner-take-all approach. Analyzes how william c. kimberling, the deputy director of the federal election commission, is a credible author over the issue. Over the years, the National Popular Vote bill has been introduced in the legislatures of all 50 states. 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. Cons: Smaller states don't get as much of a say and people would demand a national recount National Bonus Plan Winner of popular vote gets extra 102 electoral votes Pros: No winner of popular vote losing overall Cons: Basically exactly like the Direct plan District Plan Win popular vote in each district, you get one electoral vote. A candidate may not have to concentrate anymore, but they may have to move their attention to states such as Texas, New York, California, and Alaska. Rebekah Richards is a professional writer with work published in the "Atlanta Journal-Constitution," "Brandeis University Law Journal" and online at tolerance.org. In the U.S., that means people who lean Democratic live in urban areas, while people who lean Republican live in rural areas. When you visit the site, Dotdash Meredith and its partners may store or retrieve information on your browser, mostly in the form of cookies. And thats not how it should be in a democracy. 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. Although moving to a popular vote election would balance the weight of each vote, it would also create more sway in larger population states. Because of the Winner-Take-All state laws candidates for president only campaign and spend their money in 12-13 swing states because voters in those few swing states determine who wins the election and presidential candidates totally ignore voters in the rest of the country(except to raise money). 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. This post was published on the now-closed HuffPost Contributor platform. cons of the national popular vote plan. In fact, let's tally up all the votes cast for president between 1932 and 2008. Secondly, it creates a minimalist depiction in the minds of the candidate towards more than 40 states. 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 National Bonus Plan maintains the Electoral College voting system but adds 102 bonus electoral votes to the existing 538 votes. The Electoral College is very undemocratic and riddled with issues. It would eliminate the threat of a faithless elector. But if some non-member In 2004, for example, candidates George W. Bush and John Kerry campaigned heavily in states such as Nevada while ignoring political issues in New York, a state that Kerry was sure to win, according to the University of the Pacific. 41 States (with 80% of U.S. population) will be Ignored in the 2024 Presidential Election. 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. I will explain that in another blog post. 8. The appeal of NPV is the simplicity of its message. In contrast, in a direct popular election, each vote matters equally. There are logistical issues that are managed at the local level in each election. NCSL conducts policy research in areas ranging from agriculture and budget and tax issues to education and health care to immigration and transportation. During the 2012 elections, 38 states, also known as spectator states, were ignored and forgotten. 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. More people live in urban regions, which means they would have a constant sway over the election. National Popular Vote compact pros and cons. 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. Less would get done, which would affect the needs of households at the local level. When the Constitution was set in place in 1789, the U.S. elected its first president. This brings us to 196 of the 270 electoral votes needed to activate the pact. Only Nebraska and Maine do not. The principal flaw in the plan is its assumption that under the plan there will still be only two major parties competing for the presidency in 2020. . Inicio; Nota Biografica; Obra; Blogs. The National Bonus Plan was proposed by historian Arthur Schlesinger, Jr. 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 compact is designed to ensure that the candidate who receives the most votes nationwide is elected president, and it .