This post was published on the now-closed HuffPost Contributor platform. 4. The danger of NPV is that it will undermine the complex and vital underpinnings of American democracy. It is not at all clear that it would similarly prosper under the direct election regime being pushed by NPV. NCSL conducts policy research in areas ranging from agriculture and budget and tax issues to education and health care to immigration and transportation. Colorado is on the verge of joining a nationwide movement that could eventually change how we choose the next president of the United States. The one-vote approach does not align with the way the electoral votes operates. 805 15th Street, NW, Suite 800 In the 2016 election, "swing states" that might vote Republican or Democrat like Wisconsin were targets of candidates Donald J. Trump and Hillary R. Clinton. Ten reasons I support the National Popular Vote | MinnPost Although the 20th Amendment to the Constitution provides clarity to this situation, that process is based on the electoral college. 1. However, Hilary Clinton won 2.6 million more popular votes nationwide than Donald Trump. They have only won the popular vote once. This advance is referred to as the winner-take-all approach. evergreen funeral home live stream. Though the original, some would say highly undemocratic, purpose. We have seen this outcome in the 2016 Presidential election between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump and in the 2000 election between George H.W. But NPV could force our electors to disregard the wishes of the . It would eliminate the Congressional provisions for a non-majority election. You can use essay samples to find ideas and inspiration for your paper. 8. Even if states impose fines on faithless electors for their actions, it is not a guarantee that the behavior will stop. Today the Democrats want to replace the Electoral College/Winner-Take-All system with a direct popular vote and the Republicans adamantly want to keep it. The issue raised by the National Popular Vote campaign is fundamental: What kind of a democracy should America be? A candidate can win the popular vote in enough states to win a majority of electoral votes but still lose the popular vote nationally. Is the Electoral College a Problem? Does It Need to Be Fixed? cons of the national popular vote plan. 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. 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. 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. Ken Bickers. Retrieved from https://samploon.com/electoral-college-and-national-popular-vote-pros-and-cons/, Should the Electoral College Be Abolished, Pros for The Electoral College in the United States, Electoral College is Undemocratic but We Have no Better System, The Electoral College Should Be Terminated, The Electoral College Annotated Bibliography. 1. It is perhaps the most simplistic form of an election. Evidence as to how a nationwide presidential campaign would be run can be found by examining the way presidential candidates currently campaign inside battleground states. That would give the Compact states only 3 days( and two of those days were weekend days) to certify their state votes. 10 Apr. It seeks to be a bulwark against mass hysteria and the hysteria created by mass media. It has its pros and cons though, many of which critics debate over. Louisiana voters should decide who receives Louisiana's electoral votes. How Many Electoral Votes Does a Candidate Need to Win? It would eliminate the threat of a faithless elector. Electoral votes are designated among the states based on Census. 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. Contributors control their own work and posted freely to our site. 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. A plan to enact the National Popular Vote was introduced in the Michigan Legislature on Wednesday. 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. Currently, candidates focus more on swing and battleground states to help them gain those electoral votes. A popular vote election would bring the presidential election in line with the rest of the election structures. Thats a bank of about 14 million potential voters that reliably vote as a majority for Democratic candidates. For the popular vote, however, Hillary Clinton received 65.8 million votes, while Donald Trump received 62.9 million votes. 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. What Is The District Plan? This Electoral College Reform - Bustle Lawmakers discuss plan to enact National Popular Vote in Michigan. Regional candidates could secure enough votes to win a national election. What Is the National Bonus Plan? - Reference.com - What's Your Question? 3. With the polarization in global politics today, especially in the United States, a switch to the popular vote would likely increase costs even further. 1. The National Bonus Plan was proposed by historian Arthur Schlesinger, Jr. The National Popular Vote proposal is doomed if even only - LSE Blogs And thats not how it should be in a democracy. 1. If that was to take place, America could potentially face the same issues it is facing now. Robert Longley is a U.S. government and history expert with over 30 years of experience in municipal government and urban planning. In the case of a tie, there are contingencies in place to determine which person will serve in the elected office. During the 2012 elections, 38 states, also known as spectator states, were ignored and forgotten. National popular vote - Ballotpedia Definition and Examples, Learn How Many Total Electoral Votes There Are. A Critique of the National Popular Vote October 13, 2008 Policy Analysis No. Home| Government| Elections| Electoral College| Electoral College Pros And Cons. 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. However, a popular vote system, although hard to implement, is a more purely democratic system than the Electoral College. Maryland and New Jersey passed this bill in 2007, Hawaii and Illinois in 2008, Washington in 2009, Massachusetts and the District of Columbia in 2010, California and Vermont in 2011, Rhode Island in 2013, New York in 2014 and Connecticut in 2018. There are logistical issues that are managed at the local level in each election. How the US Electoral College System Works, Biography of Donald Trump, 45th President of the United States, What Is Statutory Law? Because its so hard to get an amendment to the Constitution passed that means that once it becomes law it will probably remain so for a long time because the bar to change it back is so high. Cons of Electoral College. In theory that could happen every four years. The first problem it creates is the opportunity for the loser of the popular vote to win the electoral vote. As a result, the bill will take effect when enacted by states possessing an additional 74 electoral votes. 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. Now, the states are considering the National Popular Vote plan, a system that, while not doing away with the Electoral College system, would modify it to ensure that the candidate winning the national popular vote is ultimately elected president. The NPVC is a proposed interstate compact in which the signatory states agree that they will appoint their presidential electors in accordance with the national popular vote rather than their own state electorate's vote. Menu burger Close thin Facebook Twitter Google plus Linked in Reddit Email arrow-right-sm arrow-right Loading Home Buying Calculators I will explain that in another blog post. Electing a president who did not have broad regional support could lead to a fractured and less cohesive country, according to the Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections. Probably the NPV Compact would be enacted into law with as little as a simple majority of the states and possibly even less. 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. 7. The years-old effort is slowly making its way through state legislatures in hopes of changing the way But the biggest problem with changing how we elect our president using the NPV Compact is that its too easy to change it back. (See: Electoral Votes by State). It is not even a liberal or conservative bill. That effectively means that votes in the the 75% of the country that are in swing states effectively dont count at all. Candidates feel they either cant win or lose with the votes from these states. Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/the-national-popular-vote-plan-3322047. How about receiving a customized one? Do you have information you want to share with HuffPost? It fails to reach the ideal of one-person one-vote. Without any sort of broad support, the politics of the country could become even more fractured than they already are. State Question 820 lays out a statutory framework for a recreational industry that would begin about 90 days after election results are certified. It would require an Amendment in the U.S. for presidential elections. It awards all the bonus votes to the winner of the popular vote. A popular vote system would significantly impact voters and turnout. National Popular Vote compact pros and cons. The second advantage is that the all votes would be equally weighed (Richards). When the Constitution was set in place in 1789, the U.S. elected its first president. After all, the Electoral College makes it possible that a candidate who wins the majority of the votes could still lose the election. on Advantages and Disadvantages of the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact, Follow All U.S. Citizens Should Vote. The National Popular Vote compact would have the same effect as a constitutional amendment to abolish the Electoral College but has the benefit of retaining the power to control presidential elections in states hands. There would be a reduced need to build coalitions. Heres how. Dont know what Ranked Choice Voting is? In the early 19th century, many states ratified an approach that would allow the candidate with the most votes in that state to be the winner. 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. 5. Lastly, the biggest problem that the Electoral College produces is the reality that a persons vote really doesnt matter (Black). 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 United States does not have direct election of its president, yet most national, state and local offices are filled by the candidate with the most votes. 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. Before the 2016 election, the largest vote deficit in the popular vote was Al Gore securing over 500,000 votes more than George W. Bush. April 8, 2016 National popular vote far better than Electoral College system for choosing presidents, Stanford professors say. Resource allocation would be focused on paid advertising, which would negate the need for grassroots activities. For example, if a state used NPV and voted for candidate A, but candidate B received the most votes nationwide, the state would allocate its presidential electors to candidate B. National Popular Vote proponents argue that the United States has had four presidential elections in which the plurality winner of the popular vote was not chosen as president. In theory we could change how we elect our president every four years. Although this may limit the amount of diversity that occurs in office, and may generate extra financial costs, the argument could be made that these risks outweigh the results of an election where a majority of states, not a majority of people, put someone into office. Here are the Cons of the Electoral College 1. A majority of 270 electoral votes is required to elect the president. sale of united methodist church property. The winner would receive all of the compact states electoral votes, giving them at least the necessary 270 to win the White House. Wyoming had just 3 electoral votes, but only had 255,000 voters as well. 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. Change). This type of system would give the individual voter a much more significant influence. By adding this new interstate compact to the Electoral College/Winner-Take-All system to elect our president we are in fact making this system even more complicated and even harder for the voters to understand. The time to stop its momentum is now. 3. 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. Gov Flashcards | Quizlet Destroying the Electoral College: The Anti-Federalist National Popular Like most issues involving politics, the U.S. Constitution is largely silent on the political issues of presidential elections. To determine the National Popular Vote winner, state election officials simply would tally the nationwide vote for president based on each states official results. Moving to the popular vote structure would eliminate this potential issue. Currently, 48 of the 50 states follow the winner-take-all rule. 5. Steve Sisolak vetoed it. cons of the national popular vote plan Even the minority party wouldnt be encouraged to negotiate because they could simply stall until the next election. 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. Less would get done, which would affect the needs of households at the local level. Either would likely produce an electoral vote count closer to the popular vote. And that would lead to chaos in how political parties campaign for president and could also undermine the legitimacy of the process. That is hardly a mandate for governing, though it would be taken as such. Today, the fact that Nebraska and Maine do not use the winner-take-all system serves as proof that modifying the Electoral College system, as proposed by the National Popular Vote plan is constitutional and does not require a constitutional amendment. The Case Against the Popular Vote | The New Republic cons of the national popular vote plan - alshamifortrading.com It would eliminate superfluous votes. Pros & Cons of Selecting Government Officials by Direct Election But in practice it could happen every 10 or 20 years when the Electoral College votes change because the congressional boundaries change with the new population census. Part of HuffPost Politics. That, in turn, would likely diminish voter turnout. 12th Amendment: Fixing the Electoral College, What Is Majoritarianism? The horror of a potential national recount is only one of the dangers direct presidential elections poses. National Popular Vote Movement - Common Cause | Get Involved "The National Popular Vote Plan." The appeal of NPV is the simplicity of its message. 2023 BuzzFeed, Inc. All rights reserved. OKLAHOMA CITY Oklahomans will head to the polls March 7 to decide if the state will become the 22nd in the country to legalize recreational marijuana for use by anyone 21 and older. As of now, 15 states and Washington, D.C. have joined the National Popular Vote compact: Connecticut, Rhode Island, Vermont, Hawaii, Massachusetts, Maryland, Washington, New Jersey, Illinois, New York, California, Colorado, New Mexico, Delaware and Oregon. The NPV Interstate Compact does not eliminate the very complicated Electoral College system that most voters dont really understand. Others may struggle to meet higher than expected voter turnout levels. 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. Advantages and Disadvantages of the National Popular Vote Interstate 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.