what would happen if the electoral college was abolished

Researchby the National Association of Secretaries of State shows that 29 states and the District of Columbia require presidential electors, chosen through political party processes in each state, to cast their vote for the candidate they were selected by popular vote in that state to represent. Electoral vote totals will equal 538. List of the Pros of Abolishing the Electoral College 1. 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. There can be distinctive advantages to one party in a decade where three election cycles are possible. If the Electoral College system begins to prevent, on a regular basis, the popular vote winner from becoming president, it will create systemic challenges. 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. Even if all 25 of the states that Mr. Biden won in 2020 were to ratify such an amendment, nine additional states that President Trump won would need to ratify it as well. It causes some votes to have greater weight than others. Here's What Critics Say Is Wrong With The Electoral College : NPR The only difference is that in this unique structure, the voice of the minority can actually shout down the desires of the majority. So if the results of most presidential elections tend to reflect the choice of the people, why do we still have the Electoral College? Activists, with the aid of misguided state legislators, have begun to gain ground in the states, with NPV arising as a serious threat to the stability of our presidential election process. Theyre swing states. We already see gridlock and partisanship in Congress that limits the opportunities for collaboration. Out of those visits, almost 70% of them happened in only four states: North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Florida. Having a state-based system for electing both houses of Congress should be adequate to that task. hide caption. I used to like the idea of the Popular Vote, but now realize the Electoral College is far better for the U.S.A. Gregg says that change would radicalize politics. LIASSON: It would take a constitutional amendment to abolish the Electoral College, so that's not going to happen. In this case, 19 state legislatures are currently controlled solely by Democrats. Eliminating this barrier could mean that some parts of the country never become part of the overall campaign. Whether youre Republican or Democrat, the Electoral College is unfair. Source: Daily Kos Elections. Having the states play an autonomous role in presidential elections, it is said, reinforces the division of governing authority between the nation and the states. [1] Over the years some of them, so-called faithless electors, have deviated from this norm but in 29 states and the District of Colombia state laws exist which bind the electors to vote for the winner of the popular vote. 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. But reforming the Electoral College does not rank high among our national problems. Critics of the system would argue that the elections of Ronald Reagan and Donald Trump are evidence that this impact is no longer present in U.S. politics. Do you agree with Mr. Wegman that we should change how the Electoral College works to ensure that the popular vote chooses the president? Another 15 legislatures with varying degrees of Republican control would also need to ratify such an amendment for the Electoral College to be removed. Jesse Wegman, the author of the Opinion pieces above, is one of the guests on our Oct. 22 live panel for students. What Is the Electoral College? Imagine a Florida-style recount in every precinct in America. https://saveourstates.com/threats/the-status-of-npv, https://www.heritage.org/election-integrity/report/destroying-the-electoral-college-the-anti-federalist-national-popular-0. But experts say reforming this practice isn't likely anytime soon for a number of reasons. Electoral vote totals will equal 538. "Every vote matters," said Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., in Mississippi on Monday. Getting Rid Of The Electoral College Isn't Easy - Bustle In the current Congress, this would require every Democratic House member to vote in favor of such an amendment and be joined by 59 Republicans and every Democratic Senator to be joined by 19 of their Republican colleagues. Democratic presidential candidates are weighing in too. The system calls for the creation, every four years, of a temporary group of electors equal to the total number of representatives in Congress. By subscribing to this BDG newsletter, you agree to our. What Might Make Joe Biden Unelectable Is a Very Scary Threat Then the 2020 census will be valid for the 2024 and 2028 elections. Abolishing the Electoral College seems to be the next logical step in that process. 2: The founders wanted it this way. So overall, while the Electoral College may not make much of a difference to the results of our modern elections, it forces our politicians to have a larger scope of the issues facing this country, rather than just focusing on the concerns people in areas with large populations care about. 11. That means the major party that can maintain its base could win elections without a clear majority. Interestingly, the congressional caucus system is very close to the system the British used to replace Prime Minister David Cameron. The presidential election is held every four years on the Tuesday after the first Monday in November. Why We Should Abolish the Electoral College - New York Times The group of 16 (as of August 2019) currently control 196 electoral votes together. Polls from FiveThirtyEight polls-only forecast have predicted Clinton receiving a majority popular vote of 49.7 percent, with Trump behind at 43.3 percent. 14 Pros and Cons of Abolishing the Electoral College Most people in America want the Electoral College gone, and they want to select a president based on who gets the most votes nationally, polls say. They disagreed so strongly that the final system wasnt adopted until the last minute, thrown together by a few delegates in a side room. It is no secret that the administrations of Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Barack Obama all suffered, from the outset, from efforts to imply that there was something improper and unworthy or even suspicious in their elections. Americas auto industry auto industry auto industry At least in part because its located mostly in swing states, like Michigan and Ohio, states whose electoral votes he needed to win. 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. Source: Daily Kos Elections. Why? Fully overhauling the way the president is selected would take a Constitutional amendment, which would require the votes of two-thirds of the U.S. House of Representatives, two-thirds of the Senate, and three-fourths of the states. This spring, numerous candidates for president expressed support for either abolishing or changing the Electoral College, which ultimately picks the U.S. president. Two hundred years after James Madisons letter, the state winner-take-all rule is still crippling our politics and artificially dividing us. The correct number is 102. Candidates had to go to each state to talk about what they wanted to do for the country because there was no other way to let people know what was happening. Stanford, California 94305. It was replaced by party conventions, which eventually were replaced (almost) with strings of single or multiple state primaries and caucuses. We have an Electoral College because thats what the founders added to the Constitution at the last minute. What are the positive arguments in favor of replacing the existing electoral system with a national popular vote? There have also been five elections where the eventual president didnt win a majority of the vote, including Trump in 2016. Make sure to update your bookmarks! ## For the purposes here, all electoral votes in a given state were awarded to the proper winner, thus attributing faithless electors to the proper candidate. During the 2020 election cycle, there are several candidates who are promising to work on doing just that. Back in 1787, when the delegates to the Constitutional Convention were trying to figure out how the President should be chosen, some wanted the Congress to choose, and . Two of those elections have occurred since 2000. 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. He makes the case that both Republicans and Democrats should support a change. There were two additional votes for Sanders that were invalidated in Minnesota and one for Kasich in Colorado. The electoral college ignores the will of the people. Why? On this date, the U.S. House of Representatives approved a constitutional amendment to eliminate the Electoral College and provide for the direct election of the President using the results of the national popular vote. However, a constitutional amendment is not the only means by which an alternative to the current Electoral College can be implemented. Third, a national election might provide a cure for the delegitimation of presidential authority that has afflicted the last three presidencies. 10. There are over 300 million people currently residing in the United States, but only 538 people actually get to choose who gets to be the president. The reasons for the Electoral College may not be relevant any more. However, it is possible to win the presidency without winning the popular vote. As we all know only too well, in practice this archaic system means that the person who wins the most votes may not win the election. Did you know that when Americans vote in the 2020 presidential election, theyre not actually voting for the next president? ** Adjusted Maine to act as one state rather than separate EV districts. We need to think hard, and quickly, about how to reform three aspects of the presidential nomination process: the debates, the primary elections and the conventions. Editors Note: In 2016, we asked two professors to debate whether the Electoral College should cease to be the mechanism used for selecting the U.S. president. The two parties have chosen the same year in which to nominate a person whom large numbers of Americans, probably a majority, regard as unfit (though not for the same reason). Continually updated tools and resources to help move your practice and the legal profession forward during COVID-19 and beyond. 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. 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. This issue exists in the Electoral College when the rural states face off with the urban ones. **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). Still, Levy said if he had to bet on whether the U.S. will still be using the Electoral College in 20 years he thinks it will. It's time to renew your membership and keep access to free CLE, valuable publications and more. .just the large States - the Cities would end up running the Country. And it confines vote-counting disputes to just one, or maybe a few, states. In two of these elections, a. Under the current structure of the United States, there are 50 unique presidential contests instead of one nationwide affair to elect a President. The Electoral College thus presents democratic risks without serving any of its original purposes. This design promotes the two-party system. Article II, section 1 of the Constitution establishes the Electoral College. Still, there would be some major changes to our elections if we abolished the Electoral College. On September 18, 1969, the U.S. House of Representatives voted by an overwhelming 338 to 70 to send a constitutional amendment to the Senate that would have dismantled the Electoral College,. Having the states play an autonomous role in presidential elections, it is said, reinforces the division of governing authority between the nation and the states. The US presidential election takes place 3 November. But as people moved and the economy changed so did that ratio. Today, 48 states use winner-take-all. 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. Third, defenders of the Electoral College also claim that it supports the underlying value of federalism. I wrote a whole book on the subject. As American leadership falters, scholars say, autocrats are on the rise. There have been three: John Quincy Adams, Benjamin Harrison and George W. Bush. That same view will doubtless color the 2016 election as well. Gary Gregg, who leads the McConnell Center at the University of Louisville, says that if today's system over-privileges rural states, a national popular vote would be just as unfair in the opposite direction. But swing states distort our national priorities, even when the president wins the popular vote. After a long battle in Florida Bush won the state narrowly, giving him an Electoral College victory of 271 to 266 over Al Gore. Not this year. Rural Americans would be serfs if we abolished the Electoral College {{currentYear}} American Bar Association, all rights reserved. This agreement includes several states and DC, giving the electoral vote count assigned to them to the candidate who receives the most votes in the national election. As discussed above, the only practical way of ending the Electoral College is by changing the ways in which states use the popular vote to award electors to the presidential candidates. A Constitutional Amendment to Abolish the Electoral College And because they created it, its a sacred work of constitutional genius. Do you agree with him that the winner-take-all system that most states use for the Electoral College is undemocratic and unfair? But under this system, those Republican votes might as well not exist. But there is something called the National Popular Vote Compact. The threat is the effort to create a so-called . It took time for people to learn what was happening in the nations capital. In the video above, Mr. Wegman argues that the Electoral College is undemocratic. But heres the important part. In part, that is because the Electoral College is constitutionally mandated, and abolishing it would require a constitutional amendment. Sticking to the electoral college format allows us to use electors as intended instead of relying on all of the votes counting. Technically, it is . 2) The Electoral College ensures that different parts of the country, such as Iowa and Ohio, are involved in selecting the president, rather than just the most populated areas. It would create problems when multiple candidates run. The three-fifths clause became irrelevant with the end of slavery (thankfully! What does arthur schlesinger, jr. say would happen if the electoral First, there's the Constitutional problem. And even when that doesn't happen, Wegman sees another problem with the . In addition to the NPVIC discussed above, there are two variations on this theme that could reduce the odds that someone could win the presidency without winning the national popular vote. Right now, those circumstances tend to benefit Republicans in the Electoral College, while disadvantaging Democrats who have won the popular vote in seven of the last eight elections. As we begin the third decade of the 21st century, change benefits the Democrats. Some laws simply state that electors must vote for the candidate of the party they represent; others require electors to sign an oath or a pledge. Including prescription drug benefits and all seniors at every income level. But they spend almost no time talking about issues that matter to millions of voters elsewhere, like public transportation in New York or climate change in California. Most Americans, by a wide margin, believe the Electoral College should be abolished. 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. This is just one way the legacy of slavery still taints our politics today. Abolishing the Electoral College stops swing states from having sway in the election. This is the heart of the problem with the Electoral College. There have been some unusual elections, such as the 1972 affair when Richard Nixon took 520 electoral votes to George McGoverns 16. Why did President Obama spend so much money bailing out the auto industry? Now, Trump feels the Electoral College is "far better for the U.S.A." as he wrote Tuesday on Twitter. Today the pact has the support of states and Washington D.C. that total 181 electoral votes, largely those that have gone for Democrats in recent years. Why? Throughout our nations history there have been many unwise attempts to abolish the Electoral College, but these proposed constitutional amendments saw little success and unsurprisingly failed to gain traction. 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. Britannicas ProCon.org lists three reasons: 1) The founding fathers thought the Electoral College was the best method for electing the president.2) The Electoral College ensures that different parts of the country, such as Iowa and Ohio, are involved in selecting the president, rather than just the most populated areas.3) The Electoral College guarantees certainty, whereas a popular vote system might lead to no candidate getting a majority. Many of them were unhappy with the results. US election 2020: What is the electoral college? - BBC News "Precisely what it does is proportionately advantages where the people are," Levy said. It doesnt. Do you think this means the system is broken? Colin Powell was the primary beneficiary, receiving three votes. It's just not clear how you could do that.". That means if you live in a rural area, your vote may count more toward who gets to be the eventual president. Popular vote is a direct vote. When you know that one state will vote the same way in every election, there is no need to visit that place. Despite California having millions of more people living in the state compared to Wyoming, the weight of a vote is 30% less. That means more people can feel like their government accurately represents their needs. Swing or battleground states are mere accidents of geography. Two closely watched cases arising from the 2016 electoral process, however, might provide the justices with an opportunity to do just that. 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. 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. But explaining exactly how it does this remains a mystery. As the U.S. Government Archives likes to say, the Electoral College is a process, not a place. This structure was placed in the Constitution by the Founding Fathers of the United States as a compromise between having a vote in Congress to elect the President and the election of a candidate by qualified citizens. In the history of the United States, there have been six presidential elections that would have qualified for this issue and three of them have occurred since 1968. In recent years, a new scheme has emerged that claims it can bypass the seemingly insurmountable impediment of a constitutional amendment process but have the same result of nullifying the Electoral College: The National Popular Vote Compact (NPV). The party structureswhich, for all their faults, have a vested interest in candidates from the moderate middle who are able to work with Congress and other officials to governhave been sidelined. Here, again, there are three main points to make. In the Electoral College, there are 51 voting jurisdiction (states) that includes D.C.

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