what would happen if the electoral college was abolished
The most popular alternative is the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact (NPVIC). The Electoral College website now has an easy-to-remember address. However, in the five presidential elections of the 21st century, two ended up with the winner of the popular vote losing the Electoral College. What Is the Electoral College? We have an Electoral College because thats what the founders added to the Constitution at the last minute. There will always be a concern about the tyranny of the majority in the United States. Getting rid of the Electoral College would radicalize politics. He disliked the practice so much he called for a constitutional amendment barring it. In the video above, Mr. Wegman argues that the Electoral College is undemocratic. 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 thats it. In the U.S., 65 percent of adults think whoever wins the popular vote should hold the nation's highest office, according to an Atlantic/PRRI poll last year. What would happen if the Electoral College was abolished? But in the end, Republicans and Democrats are virtually tied. In part, that is because the Electoral College is constitutionally mandated, and abolishing it would require a constitutional amendment. The 2010 census is therefore valid for the 2012, 2016, and 2020 Presidential elections. Iowa farmers might lose out to California union workers since their population numbers are larger. A second variation would be to award two Electoral College votes from each state to the winner of the national popular vote and award the remaining electors to the winner of each congressional district (CD). If the Electoral College was eliminated, the power to elect the President would rest solely in the hands of a few of our largest states and cities, greatly diminishing the voice of smaller populated states. 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. As far as the 2016 election is concerned, Hillary Clinton would still be the likely winner if the Electoral College didn't exist. Did you know that when Americans vote in the 2020 presidential election, theyre not actually voting for the next president? The Constitution is silent on whether states or the electors themselves ultimately can decide which candidate gets the electors vote, and the U.S. Supreme Court has not addressed that issue in the handful of cases it has considered related to the Electoral College. Now is the time for sober and spirited citizens from both parties to devise a new system for 2020. This action would allow the popular vote winner to take the White House. The first is easily dismissed. Abolishing the Electoral College would get rid of this confusing process. And, as our colleague Bill Galston has written, the Electoral College continues to be a ticking time bomb. In the 2020 presidential election a shift of just 45,000 votes in three states, Wisconsin, Georgia and Arizona could have shattered Americans belief in the legitimacy of their political system by creating a tie in the Electoral College and sending the election to the House of Representatives. But its worth taking a closer look at arguments in favor of keeping the status quo. 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. Why? And so each Electoral College vote in a small state like Delaware or Wyoming is worth more than an Electoral College vote in a big state like California. 1. Even though proponents of the Electoral College want it to stay so that every state can have a specific say in the outcome of the election, the candidates are already starting to behave in the same ways that people fear they would when targeting a majority population groups. Its possible the Supreme Court will ultimately decide who gets to decide how individual electors vote. In a polarized political environment, such an institutional structure remains entrenched. 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. Why? Moreover, the electoral college method preserved the two compromises over representationthe three-fifths clause and the big state-small state compromiseand guarded against a fracturing of votes for many candidates, which they thought might occur once George Washington was no longer available as a nationally respected consensus candidate. "The game will not be any longer to be a [politician who is] liberal but be able to appeal to a rural Ohioan," he said. While politicians continue to put major focus on highly-populated urban cities of many states, such as Cleveland, Ohio, and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the Electoral College pushes candidates to address issues in states as a whole and not just in metropolitan regions. Those states do get a boost from their two Senate-based electoral votes, but that benefit pales in comparison to the real culprit: statewide winner-take-all laws. ), and the big state-small state divide no longer animates our politics, if it ever did. The current structure limits Americans from pushing in this direction even though candidates tend to visit swing states more often. Of the 700 attempts to fix or abolish the electoral college, this one nearly succeeded In 1969, Congress almost approved a constitutional amendment to get rid of the electoral college,. #Marianne2024 . Students 13 and older in the United States and the United Kingdom, and 16 and older elsewhere, are invited to comment. It wasnt the first time a president won by losing or the second or even the fourth. 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. Why, or why not? This is one reason why they created checks and balances, including the Electoral College. Abolishing the Electoral College seems to be the next logical step in that process. Sometimes one party does better for a few election cycles. The pros and cons of abolishing the Electoral College must go beyond the 65% of people who want it gone. Alexander Hamilton was a significant supporter of the Electoral College. 4. Abolish the electoral college. However, it is possible to win the presidency without winning the popular vote. Whether youre Republican or Democrat, the Electoral College is unfair. It is within a states authority under Article II, Section 1 to impose a fine on electors for failing to uphold their pledge, the court said in an 8-1 opinion. 5. Instead of dealing with these complications, a simple majority vote would always speak of the will of the people. Electors manage the needs of the state and community instead of following the will of the general public throughout the country. Under these laws, which states adopted to gain political advantage in the nations early years, even though it was never raised by the framers states award all their electors to the candidate with the most popular votes in their state. Most Americans, by a wide margin, believe the Electoral College should be abolished. Places like Florida, Pennsylvania, Michigan. That means there must be a majority of states that agree with a specific candidate instead of allowing the people to decide who they want to have as president. "How would that work?" Imagine a Florida-style recount in every precinct in America. The basis for the Electoral College is found inArticle II, Section 1of the Constitution, which spells out how the president shall be chosen. But explaining exactly how it does this remains a mystery. **Here, we treat the District of Columbia as a single congressional district (as the 23rd Amendment to the Constitution does for the purposes of the Electoral College). Well, American democracy operates on a whole collection of cherished ideas and practices, but our system also includes some dusty old artifacts from its founding two centuries ago. Having a state-based system for electing both houses of Congress should be adequate to that task. The presidential election is held every four years on the Tuesday after the first Monday in November. For instance, in 1900 New York was the biggest state in the union with 7,268,894 people and the state with the median population, Louisiana, had 1,381,625 people. Students, watch the video and read Mr. Wegmans Op-Ed, and then tell us: What does democracy mean to you? Sticking to the electoral college format allows us to use electors as intended instead of relying on all of the votes counting. Two of those elections have occurred since 2000. In each state, electors meet after the presidential election on the first Monday after the second Wednesday in December and cast their votes for president and vice president in separate ballots. The reasons for the Electoral College may not be relevant any more. In most cases this should prevent the popular vote loser from becoming president. After a long battle in Florida Bush won the state narrowly, giving him an Electoral College victory of 271 to 266 over Al Gore. It channels presidential politics into a two-party system, which is superior to multiparty systems where fringe factions can exercise too much leverage. Gronke asks. Remember what we said back in Myth No. It causes some votes to have greater weight than others. Supporters of a national popular vote argue something must be done; the Electoral College disproportionately inflates the influence of rural areas while undervaluing the votes of cities. The point is, even accounting for demographic changes, neither party has a built-in advantage under a popular-vote system. 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. 2023 BDG Media, Inc. All rights reserved. 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. 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. Frances C. Arrillaga Alumni Center What happens if a candidate with electoral votes dies or becomes In his video, Mr. Wegman offers counterarguments to what he calls myths about the Electoral College. Under the current system, voters in each state cast their ballots for electors, of which 270 are necessary to win. Myth No. When you know that one state will vote the same way in every election, there is no need to visit that place. The NPV would effectively abolish the Electoral College and co-opt even those states who did not join the compact into accepting an electoral regime they never agreed to or approved. In fact, there is already a movement brewing among states to agree to award their electors to whichever candidate wins the national popular vote. In this extraordinarily strange election year, debating the Electoral College might seem an odd pastime when so many other issues concern us. Do they outweigh the arguments that Mr. Wegman presents? Our votes would count the same wherever they were cast. From hair trends to relationship advice, our daily newsletter has everything you need to sound like a person whos on TikTok, even if you arent. This is the heart of the problem with the Electoral College. As American leadership falters, scholars say, autocrats are on the rise. Out of those visits, almost 70% of them happened in only four states: North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Florida. And finally, Myth 3: The Electoral College protects small states. 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. Gronke notes, however, that there would be major administrative challenges if the U.S. ever got to the point of switching to a national popular vote. Yet, ratification happens not by popular vote but by state legislature. The presidential election in 2016 saw a modern-era record for faithless electors, but five of them came from the Clinton camp. Spend some time moving states into the Biden and Trump circles and make notes about what you notice and wonder. That means centrist ideas tend to be the ones that receive the most traction instead of the individual priorities of platforms on the extreme left or right. It's time to renew your membership and keep access to free CLE, valuable publications and more. In 2016, Donald Trump won the White House by earning a majority of electoral votes, even though almost three million more Americans voted for Hillary Clinton. Today, 48 states use winner-take-all. It is a process that allows the people to choose who serves in the White House instead of throwing it into Congress. But if youre a voter in the United States, theres a really good chance your vote doesnt count the way you think it does. Hillary Clinton won. That means the major party that can maintain its base could win elections without a clear majority. Another 15 legislatures with varying degrees of Republican control would also need to ratify such an amendment for the Electoral College to be removed. Under this option, Florida would give 15 Electoral College votes to Clinton and 14 to Trump. There can be distinctive advantages to one party in a decade where three election cycles are possible. Warren says she wants to get rid of the Electoral College, and vote for president using a national popular vote. Do you agree with Mr. Wegman that we should change how the Electoral College works to ensure that the popular vote chooses the president? Adding even more candidates into this discussion without the protections of this structure could create circumstances where someone with less than 35% of the vote could potentially win a four-year term. The small towns in the United States, along with all of the rural areas, would become marginalized if this system were to be entirely abolished. In May, the Washington State Supreme Courtuphelda state election law that said an elector who did not vote for the candidate he pledged to support could be fined up to $1,000 in civil penalties. This process stopped the process that was used in England to select a Prime Minister. But after the presidential election in 1800 resulted in an acrimonious tie vote between Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr, the12th Amendmentwas ratified in 1804. 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. For almost the first half century of the republic, presidential candidates were chosen by the caucuses of the two parties in the House and the Senate. 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. George W. Bush won the Electoral College in 2000 even though he received 0.5% less of the popular vote against Al Gore. Every vote would count equally instead. These Americans, chosen for loyalty to their political party, will vote for the presidential candidate who won their states popular vote. 3. Presidential candidate Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., at an organizing event in February. There have been a total of five candidates who have won the popular vote but lost in the Electoral College, with the most recent cases occurring in the 2016 and 2000 . And even though it is widely acknowledged that the Electoral College is a ticking time bomb that could seriously erode American democracy, none of these attempts has been successful. John Kasich, a Republican, even though Colorado law required electors to cast their votes for state-winner Hillary Clinton, a Democrat. And this was an effort that was supported by the AFL-CIO, the Chamber of Commerce, the American Bar Association, and progressive and liberal groups outside. This Student Opinion prompt and a related Lesson of the Day will prepare students to participate in our live panel discussion about the Electoral College, on Oct. 22 at 1 p.m. Eastern. First, and most obviously, such a system would conform to the dominant democratic value that has prevailed in American politics ever since the one-person, one-vote reapportionment rulings of the early 1960s. Abolishing the Electoral College: Since the year 2000, there have been five presidential elections. The group of 16 (as of August 2019) currently control 196 electoral votes together. And while Electoral College winning/popular vote losing presidents are formally and technically legitimate holders of the office, the perception that a broken system is anti-democratic and anti-majoritarian can have wide-reaching, penetrating, long-term consequences for the health of a democracy. However, a constitutional amendment is not the only means by which an alternative to the current Electoral College can be implemented. No amount of campaigning will change that. Maine and Nebraska, however, have enacted the congressional district method, which allocates one electoral vote to the winner of the popular vote in each state-drawn district. First, there's the Constitutional problem. There are millions of Republicans in deep-blue states, like Massachusetts and California. 6. Support for direct popular election. Such an effort would likely receive little or no Republican support. The Electoral College has elected a president who did not win the popular vote twice in the past 20 years, in 2000 and 2016. If you submit a question as a comment on this article, we might use it during the live event. The electoral college ignores the will of the people. There have been three: John Quincy Adams, Benjamin Harrison and George W. Bush. Trump made a similar argument earlier this week, warning that "smaller states & then entire Midwest would end up losing all power.". For example, in 1967, 58 percent favored its abolition, while in 1981, 75 percent of . 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. Five times in our history, presidential candidates who have won more votes than their opponent have still lost the election. It said that the Colorado secretary of state erred in removing an elector who cast his vote for then-Ohio Gov. And the most recent major occasion took place in 1969, 1970, when there was a strong bipartisan effort to abolish the electoral college and have us utilize a national popular vote. But the Constitution and the courts have allowed the states some leeway to make changes to how their Electoral College representatives are chosen. The corrosiveness of this system isnt only a modern concern. Redirecting to https://m.startribune.com/one-clear-result-of-the-2020-election-at-last-let-s-abolish-the-electoral-college/. There are three basic arguments in favor of the system the framers of the Constitution gave us, with little sense of how it would actually work. Thats not true either. 2016 is on track to be the fifth election in U.S. political history in which the candidate who wins the most votes is not the one elected president -- giving rise to another round of calls to. In August, a panel of the U.S. 10th Circuit Court of Appealsruleddifferently in a case raising similar issues. In the interactive diagram The Battleground States Biden and Trump Need to Win 270, you are able to build your own coalition of states to see how either candidate, President Trump or former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr., can win the election. That fall, former Vice President Richard M. Nixon defeated . Sixty years later inRay v. Blair, the court ruled the Constitution, including the 12th Amendment, does not bar a political party from requiring electors to sign a pledge to support the nominees of the national convention. A plan to scrap the Electoral College via constitutional amendment would not pass in the current environment. william jackson bridgepoint net worth, how to change email address on moonpig account,
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