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. 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. Is It Time to Implement a National Popular Vote in Presidential Just another site cons of the national popular vote plan . 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 . Using the NPV system means that every vote counts the same. And thats not how it should be in a democracy. Congressional District Method by Riley Dimmock - Prezi 1. Though the original, some would say highly undemocratic, purpose. As of July 2020, a National Popular Vote bill has been signed into law in 16 states controlling a total of 196 electoral votes, including 4 small states, 8 medium-sized states, 3 big states (California, Illinois, and New York), and the District of Columbia. Most recently, the bill was passed by a bipartisan 4016 vote in the Republican-controlled Arizona House, 2818 in Republican-controlled Oklahoma Senate, 574 in Republican-controlled New York Senate, and 3721 in Democratic-controlled Oregon House." The Electoral College system - the way we really elect our president - has always had its detractors and lost even more public support after the 2016 election, when it became apparent that President-ElectDonald Trump might have lost the nationwide popular vote to Sec. In theory that could happen every four years. But the much greater danger to American democracy is that direct elections may make it possible for a president to be elected by no more than 30 percent of the vote, regardless of his or her suitability for office, so long as there is sufficient money and a clever media advisor behind the effort. Longley, Robert. 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). Here are the essential pros and cons of popular vote elections to examine. If a party knows either that it can't win a single elector in a state or has an easy road to winning all of them, it sends its resources to where it has a competitive chance.. Get breaking news and updates from Common Cause. In countries where the concept of popular votes is in place, every vote has an equal weight regarding the election outcome. As with other powers entrusted to the states, it is an application, not a circumvention, of the Constitution when the states utilize those powers as they see fit. In theory we could change how we elect our president every four years. Lawmakers discuss plan to enact National Popular Vote in Michigan. 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. 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. National Popular Vote Plan page 3 that non-member states that fail to hold such elections will not be included in the determination of 'the national popular vote winner.' This sidesteps the problem and provides an incentive for all states (non-members as well as members) to (continue to) hold such elections. OKLAHOMA CITY Oklahomans will head to the polls March 7 to decide if the state will become the 22nd in the country to legalize recreational marijuana for use by anyone 21 and older. Is the National Popular Vote Plan Constitutional? a plan for a national popular vote could undermine the . pros and cons." dave leip's atlas of u.s. presidential elections. 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. But with the NPV Compact a change in party control of just one or two states could restore the old system of electing the president and then four years later it could be changed back. Cookies collect information about your preferences and your devices and are used to make the site work as you expect it to, to understand how you interact with the site, and to show advertisements that are targeted to your interests. In a closely contested direct popular election, every precinct across the country might require close examination, rather than a handful of states or precincts. Advantages & Disadvantages of a Direct Popular Election That would increase the amount of polarization being experienced in politics today because there would be less of a need to compromise. Congressional Digest The National Popular Vote However, a popular vote system, although hard to implement, is a more purely democratic system than the Electoral College. 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. As a result, an agreement between a group of states to cast all of their electoral votes in a similar manner, as proposed by the National Popular Vote plan passes constitutional muster. National Popular Vote: A Status Update - FairVote Change), You are commenting using your Twitter account. N.p., n.d. Either would provide a reason for both parties to compete in most states because there would be electors to win. 5. This post was published on the now-closed HuffPost Contributor platform. The Danger of the National Popular Vote Compact - Harvard Law Review 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. This National Popular Vote Compact wouldn't take effect until states with 270 electors a majority joined in. Because of the Winner-Take-All state laws candidates for president only campaign and spend their money in 12-13 swing states because voters in those few swing states determine who wins the election and presidential candidates totally ignore voters in the rest of the country(except to raise money). 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. cons of the national popular vote plan These are the states that may go to either major party candidate in the election. 6. A direct popular election also ensures that citizens' votes have equal weight. Definition and Examples, Learn How Many Total Electoral Votes There Are. The National Bonus Plan maintains the Electoral College voting system but adds 102 bonus electoral votes to the existing 538 votes. As a result, the percentage of popular votes secured by Donald Trump was just 46.4% in comparison with Hilary Clinton, who secured 48.5% of the votes. The last amendment, the 27th Amendment to the Constitution, was ratified nearly 200 years after it was originally proposed. what connection type is known as "always on"? The principal flaw in the plan is its assumption that under the plan there will still be only two major parties competing for the presidency in 2020. . (See: Electoral Votes by State). As the National Popular Vote (NPV) movement steps up its effort to impose a direct election for president, attempting to enlist states with a sufficient number of electors to constitute a majority (268) and to bind them to the winner of the national popular vote, those states considering the proposal might first reflect on the nightmare aftermath Probably the NPV Compact would be enacted into law with as little as a simple majority of the states and possibly even less. However, in the popular vote, Trump only received 62,984,825 votes against Hillary Clinton's 65,853,516 popular votes. The Electoral College: An Overview and Analysis of Reform Proposals By rejecting non-essential cookies, Reddit may still use certain cookies to ensure the proper functionality of our platform. Either would likely produce an electoral vote count closer to the popular vote. 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. 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. Retrieved from https://samploon.com/electoral-college-and-national-popular-vote-pros-and-cons/, Should the Electoral College Be Abolished, Pros for The Electoral College in the United States, Electoral College is Undemocratic but We Have no Better System, The Electoral College Should Be Terminated, The Electoral College Annotated Bibliography. Is the Electoral College a Problem? Does It Need to Be Fixed? cons of the national popular vote plan - vidasproductivas.org National Popular Vote values rural and urban voters equally. That means every state is allowed a minimum of 3 electoral votes. Research & Policy - National Conference of State Legislatures 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. Less would get done, which would affect the needs of households at the local level. 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. PDF The Direct Election Plan - tesd.net 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. The cost of a presidential election in the United States is already several billion dollars. It would require an Amendment in the U.S. for presidential elections. The Pros and Cons of the Electoral College - SmartAsset The electoral college is a tradition of American politics that's fairly controversial. Instead, it modifies the winner-take-all rule in a way its supporters say would assure that every vote will matter in every state in every presidential election. 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. Many Americans are confused about how a win is obtained under these conditions and are on a quest to change this traditional statute. . The National Popular Vote Plan to Bypass the Electoral College - ThoughtCo The National Popular Vote Plan. PBS: What does voter turnout tell us about the 2016 election. Some critics argue that more people would vote in a direct popular election, according to the University of the Pacific. She graduated magna cum laude from Brandeis University with bachelor's degrees in creative writing, English/American literature and international studies. The official 2016 election results from the Electoral College gave Donald J. Trump the victory with 306 electoral votes v. Hillary Clinton's 232 votes. The Electoral College distorts presidential campaigns . If the election is based off a popular vote, each of these areas would need to be closely examined in real-time, which would enhance the security of each vote that is cast. 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. It knows that a majoritarianism that produces a plurality is not the voice of a majority of the citizenry.