cons of the national popular vote plan
5. Each vote would affect each candidate instead of being overlooked due to which state those votes would be coming from. Advantages of the NPV Interstate Compact 1. Nevada passed the legislation in 2019, but Gov. I am confident that when we enter the next phase where the popular vote leans Republican that Republicans will change and be adamant that we should elect the president by direct popular vote and Democrats will be arguing why we should keep the Electoral College/Winner-Take-All system. This brings us to 196 of the 270 (73%) electoral votes needed to activate the pact just 74 votes away. In U.S. history, there has been one vice-presidential candidate who died after being nominated and one that withdrew from their partys ticket. That means every state is allowed a minimum of 3 electoral votes. Bush and Al Gore (Black). Home| Government| Elections| Electoral College| Electoral College Pros And Cons. 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. By accepting all cookies, you agree to our use of cookies to deliver and maintain our services and site, improve the quality of Reddit, personalize Reddit content and advertising, and measure the effectiveness of advertising. 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. On a close popular vote, often defined as a difference of 0.5% or less in the tabulated results, an automatic recount would likely be triggered. http://www.nationalpopularvote.com/. Hillary Clinton, but won the electoral vote to become the 45thPresident of the United States. The issue raised by the National Popular Vote campaign is fundamental: What kind of a democracy should America be? Cons of Electoral College. Electoral college reform proposals include (1) the district plan, awarding each state's two at-large electoral votes to the statewide popular vote winners, and one electoral vote to the winning candidates in each congressional district; (2) the proportional plan, awarding electoral votes in states in direct proportion to the popular vote gained (See: Electoral Votes by State). . The National Popular Vote Bill is not a Democrat or Republican bill. That principle should be expanded to presidential elections. 3. A majority of 270 electoral votes is required to elect the president. Thats how politics works in America. 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. Just another site cons of the national popular vote plan . But the biggest problem with changing how we elect our president using the NPV Compact is that its too easy to change it back. If some of the 50 states and DC cannot certify their popular votes by the December deadline that could create a constitutional crisis where we would not have all of the state Electoral College votes certified by the time the Electoral College is required to vote according to the Constitution. These battleground or swing states receive 7% more federal grants, twice as many presidential disaster declarations, more Superfund enforcement exemptions, and more No Child Left Behind law exemptions (National Popular Vote). Note: Today we are in a phase where the popular vote in presidential elections leans Democratic. 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. 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. 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. Activating the National Popular Vote compact would reshape our . But don't forget, Bush won the popular vote four years later by three million votes. When the Constitution was set in place in 1789, the U.S. elected its first president. Either would likely produce an electoral vote count closer to the popular vote. The electoral requires that an election which does not receive a majority of electoral votes be taken into the U.S. House of Representatives. The years-old effort is slowly making its way through state legislatures in hopes of changing the way Since 2008, 15 states and the District of Columbia have passed laws to adopt the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact (NPVIC), which is an multi-state agreement to commit electors to. 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. 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. The Electoral College was established in the Constitution to protect minority interests and mitigate the possibility of a regional candidate. Contributors control their own work and posted freely to our site. Definition and Examples, How Political Party Convention Delegates are Chosen, What Is a Caucus? Under the plan, Michigan's 15 Electoral . In contrast, in a direct popular election, each vote matters equally. For the 7 presidential elections between 1992-2016, the Republican candidate has won the Electoral college 3 times. Lincoln Chafee (D) made his state the latest to sign on. Feb 25, 2023. The only election in the United States which is not governed by the popular vote is the presidential election. 4. 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. It could help to reduce partisanship. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email. Rebekah Richards is a professional writer with work published in the "Atlanta Journal-Constitution," "Brandeis University Law Journal" and online at tolerance.org. That is hardly a mandate for governing, though it would be taken as such. Presidential candidates have no reason to poll, visit, advertise, organize, or campaign in states that they cannot possibly win or lose; in 2016, 68% of presidential campaign visits took place in just six states. 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. But if some non-member You can use essay samples to find ideas and inspiration for your paper. It would reduce the threshold necessary to win the office. 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. It sees a healthy and vibrant democracy needing the underpinnings of civil society that rests on the sustained and active engagement of the citizenry and promotes approaches that seek to maximize that involvement. But NPV could force our electors to disregard the wishes of the . ThoughtCo. Battleground states would disappear in U.S. elections. Menu burger Close thin Facebook Twitter Google plus Linked in Reddit Email arrow-right-sm arrow-right Loading Home Buying Calculators It is perhaps the most simplistic form of an election. Get breaking news and updates from Common Cause. Inicio; Nota Biografica; Obra; Blogs. Although faithless electors have not affected the results or outcome of an election yet, in 2016, there were 7 faithless electors. Not only it already happened five times, but in theory, a candidate could win the presidency with only 22% of the popular vote in a two-candidates race. Our experts will write for you an essay on any topic, with any deadline and requirements from scratch, Electoral College and National Popular Vote Pros and Cons. A candidate could be elected without the popular vote. You are also agreeing to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. Reddit and its partners use cookies and similar technologies to provide you with a better experience. Image the country thinks it is going to elect the president by National Popular Vote and then changing back to using the old Electoral College/Winner-Take-All system just four months before an election. 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 states that join the NPV Compact will not be able to certify their Electoral College Votes until all 50 states and DC certify their state popular votes and any mandated/requested recounts since the Compact state ECVs are dependent on the winner of the national popular vote and not just their own state popular votes. This is a situation that has caused controversy in the election years of of 1800, 1876, 1888, 2000 and 2016 when the elected president won the Electoral College and the presidency but did not win the popular vote. Regional candidates could secure enough votes to win a national election. Thats the way it has been in this country for a long time. (LogOut/ 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. More people live in urban regions, which means they would have a constant sway over the election. 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 National Popular Vote plan does not do away with the Electoral College system, an action that would require a constitutional amendment. Published: Mar. 9.