4. In the 2020 general election, a ballot proposition attempted to overturn Colorado's membership to the pact, but the measure failed, 52.3% to 47.7% in the referendum. The appeal of NPV is the simplicity of its message. The horror of a potential national recount is only one of the dangers direct presidential elections poses. Robert Longley is a U.S. government and history expert with over 30 years of experience in municipal government and urban planning. Over the years, the National Popular Vote bill has been introduced in the legislatures of all 50 states. Thats how politics works in America. 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. Explains kimberling, william c., and dave leip's . The issue raised by the National Popular Vote campaign is fundamental: What kind of a democracy should America be? 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. It would be a national mandate to put someone in office, even if that winning candidate received less than 50% of the vote. That would increase the amount of polarization being experienced in politics today because there would be less of a need to compromise. It gives more voting power to individual voters in smaller states. All other votes cast for that candidate are therefore superfluous. evergreen funeral home live stream. 4. Inicio; Nota Biografica; Obra; Blogs. All other elections in the U.S. are through the popular vote. Just 12 Closely Divided Battleground States Got 96% of 2020 Campaign Events. Longley, Robert. The discussion around using the popular vote for elections has increased since the results of the 2016 election. mike matarazzo last photo. HuffPost's top politics stories, straight to your inbox. In theory we could change how we elect our president every four years. https://www.thoughtco.com/the-national-popular-vote-plan-3322047 (accessed March 4, 2023). Make a contribution to support Common Cause today. Where the National Popular Vote Plan Stands. But we're closer to that than you might think 15 states and the District of Columbia have already signed on, providing 196 electoral votes of the needed 270. "The National Popular Vote bill would guarantee the Presidency to the candidate who receives the most popular votes in the entire U.S. 6. Regional candidates could secure enough votes to win a national election. 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. The National Popular Vote Interstate Compact (NPVIC) is an agreement among states and the District of Columbia to award their respective electoral votes to the winner of the national popular vote of the presidential election. The states' approval of the compact is a victory for democracy and the principle of "one person, one vote." 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 . As of December 2020, the bill has been fully adopted predominately by Democratic-majority blue states which delivered the 14 largest vote shares for Barack Obama in the 2012 Presidential Election. If you need to flag this entry as abusive. There are a number of pros for this method. 9. In U.S. history, the electoral college winner has failed to secure the popular vote 5 times. In the 2016 election, "swing states" that might vote Republican or Democrat like Wisconsin were targets of candidates Donald J. Trump and Hillary R. Clinton. An individuals vote doesnt make a difference when it is counted against the votes of the delegates in the House of Representatives and Senate. It has also happened four times out of the 56 presidential elections. 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. 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. And that would undermine the legitimacy of the NPV among those people. Right now, the President of the United States is not elected by a popular vote. For the popular vote, however, Hillary Clinton received 65.8 million votes, while Donald Trump received 62.9 million votes. The electoral college encourages a two-party system and rewards candidates who have broad appeal. A Critique of the National Popular Vote October 13, 2008 Policy Analysis No. 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 lack of competition and campaigning in a majority of states owes itself not to the existence of the Electoral College's indirect method of choosing presidents but rather to the winner-take-all method of choosing electors in all but two states. 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. The bill has passed one chamber in 12 additional states with 96 electoral votes. Cons of Electoral College. Dont know what Ranked Choice Voting is? Lastly, it may cause a third-party candidate to prevail and win, which would allow Americans to be given more choices besides the two primary parties (Richards). What would happen during a switch to the popular vote would be unknown. It knows that a majoritarianism that produces a plurality is not the voice of a majority of the citizenry. After all, the Electoral College makes it possible that a candidate who wins the majority of the votes could still lose the election. The National Popular Vote stems from the winner-take-all approach that validates the presidential candidate interactions with only 4 out of 50 dates during their campaign. "The National Popular Vote Plan." The only election in the United States which is not governed by the popular vote is the presidential election. Longley, Robert. However, in the popular vote, Trump only received 62,984,825 votes against Hillary Clinton's 65,853,516 popular votes. 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? It is perhaps the most simplistic form of an election. Yet, by May 2021, 15 states and Washington, D.C., had signed onto the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact. Instead, each state and Washington D.C. is assigned a certain number of electoral votes based on its population. However, Hilary Clinton won 2.6 million more popular votes nationwide than Donald Trump. Many of these states dont participate in campaign visits or get televised ads. But if we set politics aside and focus on what is really best for democracy in our country in the long run I believe that the advantages of using the NPV compact to elect our president outweigh the disadvantages and the best way to elect our president in the 21st century is by direct popular vote using Ranked Choice Voting. That would give the Compact states only 3 days( and two of those days were weekend days) to certify their state votes. Surprisingly enough, the National Popular Vote bill could possibly bring forth some problems. List of the Cons of Proportional Representation. 7. It gives each vote an equal amount of power. Steve Sisolak vetoed it. It is our national motto and is so for a reason. "The National Popular Vote Plan." Opines that the national popular vote plan is the wrong way to abolith the electoral college. 6. 5. Using a popular vote system, candidates could campaign regionally, targeting major areas of support, to secure enough votes to win an election. 7. According to Article II, Section 1, "Each State shall appoint, in such Manner as the Legislature thereof may direct, a Number of Electors, equal to the whole Number of Senators and Representatives to which the State may be entitled in the Congress." The second advantage is that the all votes would be equally weighed (Richards). (LogOut/ The framers enacted the provisions relating to the Electoral College to allow for state innovation. 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. Privacy Policy. Hillary Clinton, but won the electoral vote to become the 45thPresident of the United States. The Constitution specifically leaves details like how the electoral votes are cast up to the states. For more information, please see our The alternative view of democracy is more complex; it is one that includes but is not limited to the pursuit of equality. These are the states that may go to either major party candidate in the election. The National Popular Vote Bill is not a Democrat or Republican bill. Although it is sometimes conjectured that a national popular election would focus only on big cities, it is clear that this would not be the case. In the 2016 election, only 58 percent of eligible voters went to the polls. 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. I fear that most, if not all, of the states signing onto the NPV Compact will be just blue states. 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. 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. All in all, the Electoral College causes many problems that seem unfair to American voters during such an important election. She graduated magna cum laude from Brandeis University with bachelor's degrees in creative writing, English/American literature and international studies. It has been enacted into law in 11 states with 165 electoral votes, and will take effect when enacted by states with 105 more. 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 of the 2000 presidential election. When you cast your ballot, you're not actually voting directly for your favored presidential candidate. The United States has a representative democracy rather than a direct democracy: Citizens elect representatives rather than voting on each bill. Lincoln Chafee (D) made his state the latest to sign on. 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. That structure makes it easier for extremist views to find official representation. Should that happen, then the final decision of who gets to serve as President of the United States is taken away from individual voters. The votes of those who do not live in closely divided battleground states effectively count less. Heres how. However, some critics argue that the advantages of a direct popular election including reflecting democratic principals, outweigh the disadvantages. Electoral college reform proposals include (1) the district plan, awarding each state's two at-large electoral votes to the statewide popular vote winners, and one electoral vote to the winning candidates in each congressional district; (2) the proportional plan, awarding electoral votes in states in direct proportion to the popular vote gained Proportional Plan Image the country thinks it is going to elect the president by National Popular Vote and then changing back to using the old Electoral College/Winner-Take-All system just four months before an election. It makes things easier for extreme parties to gain representation. Ken Bickers. Richard F. Potthoff looks critically at a proposed alternative way of electing the US president, the National Popular Vote plan, where all states in an interstate compact which cover 270 or more electoral votes would cast their electoral votes for the candidate who won the nationwide vote, no matter who wins their state. Imagine a scenario where a presidential candidate focuses on Los Angeles, New York City, Portland, OR and Seattle. Because every vote is equal inside Ohio or Florida, presidential candidates avidly seek out voters in small, medium, and large towns. If some of the 50 states and DC cannot certify their popular votes by the December deadline that could create a constitutional crisis where we would not have all of the state Electoral College votes certified by the time the Electoral College is required to vote according to the Constitution. By entering your email and clicking Sign Up, you're agreeing to let us send you customized marketing messages about us and our advertising partners. Security would be improved across the country. 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). Start and finish your paper with ease. If the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact becomes law it would be an excellent first step to help get a future amendment to the Constitution to replace the Electoral College/Winner-Take-All system to elect the president with a national popular vote using Ranked Choice Voting. 3. Get breaking news and updates from Common Cause. Around six-in-ten U.S. adults (63%) say the way the president is elected should be changed so that the winner of the popular vote nationwide wins the presidency, while 35% favor keeping the current Electoral College system, according to a Pew Research Center survey conducted June 27-July 4, 2022. When the Constitution was set in place in 1789, the U.S. elected its first president.