Cookie Notice NPV supporters claim, accurately, that a direct election for president would reduce or eliminate the possibility that a fringe candidate (like a Ralph Nader or Ron Paul) winning five percent or less of the vote in a single state could serve to defeat a major party candidate from the same side of the political spectrum. I will explain that in another blog post. This type of system would give the individual voter a much more significant influence. 12th Amendment: Fixing the Electoral College, What Is Majoritarianism? 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. There are logistical issues that are managed at the local level in each election. When you visit the site, Dotdash Meredith and its partners may store or retrieve information on your browser, mostly in the form of cookies. Pros & Cons of a National Popular Vote Buy Complete Issue $19.95 Login or Subscribe The National Popular Vote How would the interstate compact work? 622 By John Samples The National Popular Vote plan (NPV), introduced in more than 40 states, and adopted. In contrast, other issues related to the federal government are not exclusively entrusted to the states, and therefore the states lack the power to alter them. You can find out more about our use, change your default settings, and withdraw your consent at any time with effect for the future by visiting Cookies Settings, which can also be found in the footer of the site. 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. Menu burger Close thin Facebook Twitter Google plus Linked in Reddit Email arrow-right-sm arrow-right Loading Home Buying Calculators Heres how. This divide creates natural divisions between groups of people who both support their country, but in different ways. Published: Mar. This move would ensure that the Presidency would be given to the candidate that received the most popular votes all 50 states and the District of Columbia. what connection type is known as "always on"? 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. Using the NPV system means that every vote counts the same. And in all states but Maine and Nebraska, the candidate who receives the most votes in that state is awarded all of its electoral votes, whether the split is 51% to 49% or 99% to 1%. Each vote would affect each candidate instead of being overlooked due to which state those votes would be coming from. It knows that a majoritarianism that produces a plurality is not the voice of a majority of the citizenry. 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. An electoral college would solve . This blog post is a joint effort with Leslie Francis, former executive director of the Democratic National Committee and Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. Would you like to get a custom essay? Home| Government| Elections| Electoral College| Electoral College Pros And Cons. The National Popular Vote Interstate Compact is an agreement where states in the compact award all their electoral votes to the winner of the . Is this a solution to first past the post or is it merely reinforcing our current two party system? Longley, Robert. The method works by electing one elector within each congressional district by popular vote and selecting the remaining two electors by a statewide popular vote. But for those people who feel that changing how we elect the president should only be done by constitutional amendment they will feel that using the NPV Compact will undermine the legitimacy of the process even though its perfectly legal and constitutional. Proponents of the National Popular Vote fail to understand the most basic facts about the American presidential electoral system. The popular vote eliminates this issue too. Would it aid a fight to eliminate first past the post or would it further entrench the established party system voters American voters have expressed disdain for. Samploon is a database of free essay samples. Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in: You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. 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. In addition, the bill has been unanimously approved at the committee level in the states of Georgia and Missouri, controlling a combined 27 electoral votes. Unexpected emergencies would be difficult to handle. It is our national motto and is so for a reason. The winner-take-all rule is not required by the Constitution and was actually used by only three states in the nation's first presidential election in 1789. During a popular vote, a candidate who withdraws from the race or dies before the election can be held could still be on the ballot. The danger of NPV is that it will undermine the complex and vital underpinnings of American democracy. In U.S. history, the electoral college winner has failed to secure the popular vote 5 times. The discussion around using the popular vote for elections has increased since the results of the 2016 election. But don't forget, Bush won the popular vote four years later by three million votes. Secondly, it creates a minimalist depiction in the minds of the candidate towards more than 40 states. Advantage: Encourages Voter Turnout Similarly, because a national campaign mandates a national message, there would also be a smaller incentive for coalition-building or taking into account the characteristics, needs and desires of citizens in differing states and regions. Because every vote is equal inside Ohio or Florida, presidential candidates avidly seek out voters in small, medium, and large towns. In theory that could happen every four years. Because there was a difference of less than 1,000 tabulated votes between George W. Bush and Al Gore in one state, Florida, the nation watched as 6 million votes were recounted by machine, several hundred thousand were recounted by hand in counties with differing recount standards, partisan litigators fought each other in state and federal courts, the secretary of state backed by the majority of state legislators (all Republicans) warred with the state's majority Democratic judiciary -- until 37 days after the election the U.S. Supreme Court, in a bitterly controversial 5-4 decision effectively declared Bush the winner. If that was to take place, America could potentially face the same issues it is facing now. While we look further into the National Popular Vote, lets investigate some of its pro and cons for the American democracy. 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. After the process, the President of the Senate reveals who has officially been voted in as President and Vice President of the United States. The danger of NPV is that it will undermine the complex and vital underpinnings of American democracy. That created a voter value of 2.85. 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. 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). Bush and Al Gore (Black). 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. That means some voters, like Republicans in California or Democrats in Mississippi, are voting without power and without attention from their preferred candidates each year. 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. Note: Today we are in a phase where the popular vote in presidential elections leans Democratic. Over the years, the National Popular Vote bill has been introduced in the legislatures of all 50 states. mike matarazzo last photo. 8. on Advantages and Disadvantages of the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact, Follow All U.S. Citizens Should Vote. 48 Vitosha Boulevard, ground floor, 1000, Sofia, Bulgaria, Samploon, Inc. 2022. With the polarization in global politics today, especially in the United States, a switch to the popular vote would likely increase costs even further. In 6 Elections, 2 Near-Misses (2020, 2004) and 2 Second-Place Presidents (2016, 2000) National Popular Vote Has Been Enacted into Law in 16 Jurisdictions with 195 Electoral Votes. Richards earned a master's degree at Carnegie Mellon University. Longley, Robert. 7. Although the 20th Amendment to the Constitution provides clarity to this situation, that process is based on the electoral college. 13 Early College High School Pros and Cons, 18 Major Advantages and Disadvantages of the Payback Period, 20 Advantages and Disadvantages of Leasing a Car, 19 Advantages and Disadvantages of Debt Financing, 24 Key Advantages and Disadvantages of a C Corporation, 16 Biggest Advantages and Disadvantages of Mediation, 18 Advantages and Disadvantages of a Gated Community, 17 Big Advantages and Disadvantages of Focus Groups, 17 Key Advantages and Disadvantages of Corporate Bonds, 19 Major Advantages and Disadvantages of Annuities, 17 Biggest Advantages and Disadvantages of Advertising. 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 . Steve Sisolak vetoed it. 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