Wyoming had just 3 electoral votes, but only had 255,000 voters as well. There would be fewer opportunities to illegally alter the results of an election. 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. The National Popular Vote Bill is a bill for Americans interested in both preserving our Electoral College and reforming the shortcomings of our current "winner-take-all" system that awards all the electors of one state to the candidate who wins in that particular state and . This has occurred in 5 of the nation's 56 presidential elections, most recently in 2016. The country could become less stable and divided if he or she did not have a vast amount of support (Richards). After all, is said and done, the candidate who attains the largest number of votes can still lose. That nightmare may seem like a pleasant dream if NPV has its way. Either would provide a reason for both parties to compete in most states because there would be electors to win. This brings us to 196 of the 270 (73%) electoral votes needed to activate the pact just 74 votes away. NCSL conducts policy research in areas ranging from agriculture and budget and tax issues to education and health care to immigration and transportation. cons of the national popular vote planchicago religious demographics. 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. A popular vote structure would virtually eliminate the idea of a third-party candidate having a chance in an election. In the case of a tie, there are contingencies in place to determine which person will serve in the elected office. National Popular Vote compact pros and cons. Proponents of the National Popular Vote fail to understand the most basic facts about the American presidential electoral system. ThoughtCo. A switch to the popular vote would eliminate the concept of a battleground state because the issue would be more on issues than states. what connection type is known as "always on"? Advantage: Encourages Voter Turnout 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. Using a popular vote system, candidates could campaign regionally, targeting major areas of support, to secure enough votes to win an election. Change), You are commenting using your Twitter account. 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. A plan to enact the National Popular Vote was introduced in the Michigan Legislature on Wednesday. In summary, a popular vote is simply a vote in which the individual or issue with the most total votes from a population of voters is the winner. How the US Electoral College System Works, Biography of Donald Trump, 45th President of the United States, What Is Statutory Law? 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. Under the electoral college system (and other voting systems not based on popular voting), it only takes one extra vote more than the other candidate to create the needed results for the election. 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. 8. It has been enacted into law in 11 states with 165 electoral votes, and will take effect when enacted by states with 105 more. 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. Moving to the popular vote structure would eliminate this potential issue. Advantages and Disadvantages of the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact In the 2016 Presidential Election if the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact had been in effect the winner of the national popular vote, Hillary Clinton, would have become president instead of Donald Trump. PBS: What does voter turnout tell us about the 2016 election. Currently, the National Popular Vote bill has 172 electoral votes. 4. It gives each vote an equal amount of power. 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. To become president of the United States of America, you must be at least 35 years old, have lived in the U.S. for at least 14 years and be a natural-born citizen. I will explain that in another blog post. Right now, the President of the United States is not elected by a popular vote. She graduated magna cum laude from Brandeis University with bachelor's degrees in creative writing, English/American literature and international studies. A close election would trigger the need for a full recount. State Question 820 lays out a statutory framework for a recreational industry that would begin about 90 days after election results are certified. ThoughtCo, Dec. 16, 2020, thoughtco.com/the-national-popular-vote-plan-3322047. Even though we will be able to elect the president by national popular vote using the The National Popular Vote Interstate Compact, eventually the rules for how we elect the president should be an official part of the Constitution. 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. The National Popular Vote bill will take effect when enacted into law by states possessing 270 electoral votes a majority of the current 538 electoral votes. If this happens many people in the red states will not feel that the change is legitimate even if its legal and technically constitutional. The Electoral College system, however imperfect, serves this broader view of democracy. I fear that most, if not all, of the states signing onto the NPV Compact will be just blue states. Once effective, states could withdraw from the compact at any time except during the six-month window between July 20 of an election year and Inauguration Day (January 20). In fact, the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact, which has now been adopted by 15 states and the District of Columbia, totaling 196 electoral votes, is an actionable and realistic . The alternative view of democracy is more complex; it is one that includes but is not limited to the pursuit of equality. 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. The appeal of NPV is the simplicity of its message. The Supreme Court has said in local and state elections voting should be based on the principle of one person one vote. You can use essay samples to find ideas and inspiration for your paper. As of December 2020, the National Popular Vote bill has been adopted by 15 states and the District of Columbia, controlling 196 electoral votes: CA, CO, CT, DC, DE, HI, IL, MA, MD, NJ, NM, NY, OR, RI, VT, and WA. Advantages of the NPV Interstate Compact 1. This brings us to 196 of the 270 electoral votes needed to activate the pact. 5. The National Popular Vote (NPV) refers to the concept of allocating a state's presidential electors to the candidate who receives the most votes nationwide regardless of the state results in a presidential election. The amendment requires that any change to the rate of compensation for members of Congress can only take effect after a subsequent election in the House of Representatives. A direct popular election would make it more possible for third-party candidates to succeed and would also encourage political parties to become more radical and extreme. Do you have information you want to share with HuffPost. 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. and our When a popular vote is held for a national office, the election becomes more about platform issues than local issues. Hence, the National Popular Vote plan is an interstate compact a type of state law authorized by the U.S. Constitution that enables states to enter into a legally enforceable, contractual obligation to undertake agreed joint actions, which may be delayed in implementation until a requisite number of states join in. If enacted by enough states, the National Popular Vote bill would guarantee the presidency to the candidate who receives the most popular votes in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. But NPV could force our electors to disregard the wishes of the . . The election is held every four years on the first Tuesday in November and prior to election day, the two candidates endure state-level primaries, caucuses, debates, and conventions. Robert Longley is a U.S. government and history expert with over 30 years of experience in municipal government and urban planning. 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. The NPV Interstate Compact does not eliminate the very complicated Electoral College system that most voters dont really understand. Though the original, some would say highly undemocratic, purpose. Definition and Examples, How Political Party Convention Delegates are Chosen, What Is a Caucus? It would limit the influence of local issues in the election. For more information, please see our The last amendment, the 27th Amendment to the Constitution, was ratified nearly 200 years after it was originally proposed. While we look further into the National Popular Vote, lets investigate some of its pro and cons for the American democracy. 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. The bill has crossed paths with 36 legislative chambers and has been sponsored or voted for by 3,112 state legislators (National Popular Vote). pros and cons." dave leip's atlas of u.s. presidential elections. That means the cost of counting all the votes would be duplicated. 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. The first advantage allows for electoral votes to be fairer than the Electoral College (Richards). In 2016, Florida had 29 electoral votes and 9.4 million voters, created a voter value of 0.72. Past Event: The League of Women Voters of Berrien and Cass Counties has announced plans to broadcast a webinar discussing the National Popular Vote (NPV) on Monday, Feb. 27 at 7:00 p.m. National Popular Vote has been leading the campaign to fix the electoral college and elect the president by national popular vote since its founding in 2006 . For example: States already have the power to award their electors to the winner of the national popular vote, although this would be disadvantageous to the state that did so unless it was joined simultaneously by other states that represent a majority of electoral votes. a plan for a national popular vote could undermine the . Hillary Clinton, but won the electoral vote to become the 45thPresident of the United States. 4. Without the popular vote bill, swing states would continue to get more leverage and attention from candidates to ensure that they would be able to capture their votes. A majority of 270 electoral votes is required to elect the president. Only Nebraska and Maine do not. Some critics argue that more people would vote in a direct popular election, according to the University of the Pacific. NPV is more than a third of the way to its goal. However, some critics argue that the advantages of a direct popular election including reflecting democratic principals, outweigh the disadvantages. By rejecting non-essential cookies, Reddit may still use certain cookies to ensure the proper functionality of our platform. According to the Constitution, the Electoral College is a compromise between election of the President by a vote in Congress and election of the President by a popular vote of qualified citizens (National Archives). 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. (2020, December 16). Of the 538 Electoral College votes available, Donald J. Trump received 304 votes, Hillary Clinton received 227 votes, and seven votes went to others: three for Colin Powell, one for Faith Spotted Eagle, one for John Kasich, one for Ron Paul, and one for Bernie Sanders). Voters in spectator states, including five of the nations 10 most populous states (California, Texas, New York, Illinois, and New Jersey), and 12 of the 13 least populous states (all but New Hampshire) have no real incentive to go to the polls as their votes do not affect the outcome of the election. Colorado is on the verge of joining a nationwide movement that could eventually change how we choose the next president of the United States. List of the Cons of Proportional Representation. With a popular vote in place, each election win would be decreed a mandate to follow the platform of the winning party. 6. 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. 3. Thats the way it has been in this country for a long time. Here is the entire text of the proposed "Agreement Among the States to Elect the President by National Popular Vote." Tweet Email this More on The Electoral College: Honorable Steve Cohen In states with large population centers, individual voters have less power than voters in smaller states. It would reduce the threshold necessary to win the office. 2023 BuzzFeed, Inc. All rights reserved. Even if states impose fines on faithless electors for their actions, it is not a guarantee that the behavior will stop. Contributors control their own work and posted freely to our site. Either would likely produce an electoral vote count closer to the popular vote. Others may struggle to meet higher than expected voter turnout levels. The United States has a representative democracy rather than a direct democracy: Citizens elect representatives rather than voting on each bill. The National Popular Vote effort, explained The National Popular Vote effort is now halfway to its goal of electing future presidents via the popular vote, after Rhode Island Gov.

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