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This spring, numerous candidates for president expressed support for either abolishing or changing the Electoral College, which ultimately picks the U.S. president. While people were moving to the coasts, especially California, the Electoral College stayed the same. The main problem with the Electoral College today is not, as both its supporters and detractors believe, the disproportionate power it gives smaller states. Two hundred years after James Madisons letter, the state winner-take-all rule is still crippling our politics and artificially dividing us. A supporter of President-elect Joe Biden holds up his cellphone to display the electoral college map, outside the Philadelphia Convention Center on Nov. 7. Despite political challenges to reforming the manner in which the United States selects its president, there is danger in maintaining the status quo. 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 . It also means the road to any kind of reform is fraught with political potholes, particularly when the removal of such a system clearly benefits one party at the expense of another. The following table shows how this would have changed the outcome in the two contested elections of the 21st century and includes 2004 for comparison. Theyre swing states. In most cases this should prevent the popular vote loser from becoming president. A party system was instituted really to fulfill that old function of the Electoral College's, which is to narrow people down and get responsible people to be candidates for the presidency. But the court has not tackled to what extent states can enforce such a pledge. What does arthur schlesinger, jr. say would happen if the electoral In the 20th century there were 25 presidential elections and none of them resulted in an Electoral College winner who lost the popular vote. The Electoral College was created by the framers of the U.S But under this system, those Republican votes might as well not exist. In the first instance, states could decide to award 2 Electoral College votes (EVs) to the winner of the national popular vote (NPV) and the remainder to the winner of the state. So overall, while the Electoral College may not make much of a difference to the results of our modern elections, it forces our politicians to have a larger scope of the issues facing this country, rather than just focusing on the concerns people in areas with large populations care about. Why? On this date, the U.S. House of Representatives approved a constitutional amendment to eliminate the Electoral College and provide for the direct election of the President using the results of the national popular vote. John Locher/AP The founders fought like cats and dogs over how the president should be chosen. The point is, even accounting for demographic changes, neither party has a built-in advantage under a popular-vote system. Britannicas ProCon.org lists three reasons: 1) The founding fathers thought the Electoral College was the best method for electing the president.2) The Electoral College ensures that different parts of the country, such as Iowa and Ohio, are involved in selecting the president, rather than just the most populated areas.3) The Electoral College guarantees certainty, whereas a popular vote system might lead to no candidate getting a majority. A New Mexico doctor describes the pain and horror of caring for COVID-19 patients. The Current Threat | The Heritage Foundation That means more people can feel like their government accurately represents their needs. 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. 1, that Democrats will win a popular vote every time. Many of them were unhappy with the results. So if the results of most presidential elections tend to reflect the choice of the people, why do we still have the Electoral College? Sometimes one party does better for a few election cycles. The compact requires states to pass laws that would award their electoral votes to the candidate who wins the popular vote nationally. Next week five hundred and thirty-eight American citizens will travel to their state capitals and elect the president of the United States. # Because the District of Columbia is awarded Electoral College votes under the 23rd Amendment, we include its votes here as if it were a state. In his video, Mr. Wegman offers counterarguments to what he calls myths about the Electoral College. You may have heard this one in high school. Former Rep. Beto O'Rourke said there is a "lot of wisdom" in the idea and Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., also said she's open to it. 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. Of the 700 attempts to fix or abolish the electoral college, this one In the history of the United States, there have been five elections where the eventual winner didnt receive a clear majority of the vote. In recent years, a new scheme has emerged that claims it can bypass the seemingly insurmountable impediment of a constitutional amendment process but have the same result of nullifying the Electoral College: The National Popular Vote Compact (NPV). These imbalances effectively ensure that some votes in presidential elections are worth more than others, and as that imbalance scales up across the entire Electoral College, it can (under the right circumstances) provide the recipes for popular vote winners losing the Electoral College. However, in the five presidential elections of the 21st century, two ended up with the winner of the popular vote losing the Electoral College. These arent small states. And while the founding fathers implemented this voting process as a way to "preserve the sense of the people" in other words, to go against the popular vote's wishes if the elite few chosen to be electors felt that the winner was unqualified or unfit most states now abide by a "winner-takes-all" method of distributing votes that renders the original purpose moot. Rural Americans would be serfs if we abolished the Electoral College It's time to abolish the Electoral College - Brookings The political game in the United States would change dramatically without the Electoral College present. They are simply party loyalists who do not deliberate about anything more than where to eat lunch. There were two additional votes for Sanders that were invalidated in Minnesota and one for Kasich in Colorado. But explaining exactly how it does this remains a mystery. And thats it. This ensures that smaller rural and industrial communities will have their issues addressed by those seeking office. It wasnt the first time a president won by losing or the second or even the fourth. Without the Electoral College in place, presidential candidates would build platforms that would speak to their base. Bill Clinton won the White House in 1992 with only 43% of the vote, and then in 1996 with 49.2%. Keeping the electoral college restricts the voting to acknowledged states only. How to get rid of the Electoral College - Brookings The places where there are more people become the top priority, especially if there is a chance to swing some votes. The three-fifths clause became irrelevant with the end of slavery (thankfully! In part, that is because theElectoral Collegeis constitutionally mandated, and abolishing it would require a constitutional amendment. The system calls for the creation, every four years, of a temporary group of electors equal to the total number of representatives in Congress. Another 15 legislatures with varying degrees of Republican control would also need to ratify such an amendment for the Electoral College to be removed. In the current Congress, this would require every Democratic House member to vote in favor of such an amendment and be joined by 59 Republicans and every Democratic Senator to be joined by 19 of their Republican colleagues. The primary benefit of the electoral college is that it works to protect the best interests of the minority in every election. Tell us about it. Learn more about how to use our free daily writing prompts for remote learning. Republicans especially worry about tipping the balance away from their party. The Electoral College has given one candidate a majority win in this political structure since 1992, but there have been four times when the winner of the election didnt receive a clear majority of the votes across the entire country. James Madison, known as the father of the Constitution, was very disturbed by the state winner-take-all rule, which he considered one of the central flaws of the Electoral College as it took shape in the early 19th century. That probably promotes a more national and less regional vision. 5. Imagine a Florida-style recount in every precinct in America. One of the ways that states are considering a way to go around the Electoral College is called the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact. Generally, we count on the Republican and Democratic parties to nominate not the best people, but candidates who combine a degree of popular support with the experience and temperament to govern. Does It Need to Be Fixed? It also stops the distribution process where California gets 55 votes, but a state like Delaware only gets 3. 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. "You look at the Florida situation we had in 2000 that already took a lot of time and effort, but imagine if that was done across the country. This issue exists in the Electoral College when the rural states face off with the urban ones. The Electoral College is not going to be changed, and there are far more urgent and promising topics for reform of our presidential selection system. Abolishing The Electoral College Would Be More Complicated Than - NPR Does this interactive influence how you feel about the Electoral College? As Americans look at their election processes, a complete review of the pros and cons of abolishing the Electoral College is useful when taking this unique structure into account. There have been some unusual elections, such as the 1972 affair when Richard Nixon took 520 electoral votes to George McGoverns 16. It is not simply Republican elected officials who want to maintain the Electoral College system; Republican voters support it as well. If the Electoral College system begins to prevent, on a regular basis, the popular vote winner from becoming president, it will create systemic challenges. https://saveourstates.com/threats/the-status-of-npv, https://www.heritage.org/election-integrity/report/destroying-the-electoral-college-the-anti-federalist-national-popular-0. 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. In fact, lets tally up all the votes cast for president between 1932 and 2008. In 2000 Vice President Al Gore won the popular vote against Governor George W. Bush by 543,895. 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. But get this, the way the Electoral College actually functions today isnt even enshrined in the Constitution. That system worked well until the two-party system briefly died with the Federalist Party. Younger voters also tended to support abolishing the Electoral College. m.startribune.com Parties must obtain no less than 7% of votes - either on their own or in alliance with other parties - in order to enter . Make sure to update your bookmarks! That might invite legal challenges from candidates or voters' groups if it took place. It was replaced by party conventions, which eventually were replaced (almost) with strings of single or multiple state primaries and caucuses. It probably reduces the cost of presidential campaigns by confining television advertising to the battleground states (and spares the rest of us the tedium of endless repetitive ads). All parts of the country would not be involved in the selection of the president. What Is the Electoral College? Having this structure go away would encourage more third-party development. 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. And yet we have generally accepted it for centuries on the assumption it serves an important purpose. Getting rid of the Electoral College would radicalize politics. That means the information receives an update every 10 years. Support of that magnitude has become rare for anything in a sharply divided United States. It would create problems when multiple candidates run. 2023 BDG Media, Inc. All rights reserved. The politicians are tapping into what's become a popular position with many voters, especially Democrats. 3Qs: Should the Electoral College be abolished? - News Its how we run every election in the country, except the most important one of all. Do you think any of these arguments, or others, are convincing reasons for preserving the Electoral College as it stands now? For years, a majority of Americans have opposed the Electoral College. Despite California having millions of more people living in the state compared to Wyoming, the weight of a vote is 30% less. 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. The electoral college ignores the will of the people. The presidential election is held every four years on the Tuesday after the first Monday in November. Voting By Mail Is On The Rise, But Could Alleged N.C. Election Fraud Change That? These Americans, chosen for loyalty to their political party, will vote for the presidential candidate who won their states popular vote. But after the presidential election in 1800 resulted in an acrimonious tie vote between Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr, the12th Amendmentwas ratified in 1804. Every vote would count equally instead. The state also reelected their Republican governor in 2020. Why did President Obama spend so much money bailing out the auto industry? But experts say reforming this practice isn't likely anytime soon for a number of reasons. Paul Krugman, my Opinion colleague, wrote Thursday that "the idea that the economy is going to pose a huge problem for Democrats next year isn't backed by the available data.". "Every vote matters," said Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., in Mississippi on Monday. This imbalance is primarily a 21st century phenomenon and it could, of course, change in the years to come as some states grow and other states shrink in population. Frequently Asked Questions | National Archives It should be noted, there is debate about the permissibility of such a proposal and its going into effect would likely face a flurry of lawsuits. TheNational Archives reportsthat over the past 200 years more than 700 proposals have been introduced in Congress to reform or eliminate the Electoral College without any becoming law. Almost no one would adopt an Electoral College today if we were starting from scratch. {{currentYear}} American Bar Association, all rights reserved. Alexander Hamilton was a significant supporter of the Electoral College. The winner-take-all method is nowhere in the Constitution. "There's no realistic chance of a Constitutional amendment to abolish the Electoral College," said Jacob Levy, a professor of political theory at McGill University. If the Electoral College is a racist relic, why has it endured? Whether youre Republican or Democrat, your vote probably doesnt count the way it should. The correct number is 102. Maine Department of Administrative and Financial Services, The Electoral College is a ticking time bomb, Its time to abolish the Electoral College, Two cheers for the Electoral College: Reasons not to abolish it, according to the Congressional Research Service, https://www.brookings.edu/blog/fixgov/2020/10/21/can-the-electoral-college-be-subverted-by-faithless-electors/, Policy lessonsand surprisesfrom the Reimagine Rural podcast, Justice Thomas, gift reporting rules, and what a Supreme Court code of conduct would and wouldnt accomplish, Why is federal spending so hard to cut? That position, shared by many Republicans, makes it highly unlikely that there would be sufficient support for changing the system. Do you think that more states or all states should join the compact? The crisis of 1824 then, represented really the collapse of the old system, and an effort to re-institute it in other terms. We have an Electoral College because thats what the founders added to the Constitution at the last minute. 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. But the Constitution and the courts have allowed the states some leeway to make changes to how their Electoral College representatives are chosen. And it confines vote-counting disputes to just one, or maybe a few, states. Why? Myth No. Under the current plan, states that join will not activate the compact until enough states have joined to total 270 electoral votes. Donald Trump was open about ignoring the pleas of the safe blue states like New York when they were suffering the most from the coronavirus pandemic. Which states do matter? 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. Bible Commentary Bible Verses Devotionals Faith Prayers Coloring Pages Pros and Cons, 7 Uplifting Prayers for Desperate Situations, 50 Biblically Accurate Facts About Angels in the Bible, 50 Most Profitable Youth Group Fundraising Ideas for Your Church, 250 Ice Breaker Questions for Teen Youth Groups, 25 Important Examples of Pride in the Bible, Why Jesus Wept and 11 Lessons from His Tears, 25 Different Ways to Worship God and Praise the Lord. Abolishing the Electoral College seems to be the next logical step in that process. The compact would only go into effect once the number of states involved surpasses the 270 Electoral College vote threshold that is required to win the presidency.
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