A Democracy exists if we the people have "the right to self- governance." o "How the Electoral College Works" cites two explanations for the Electoral College: 1) The Electoral College gives small states more political power and prevents more populous states from dominating (the Senate was designed for the same reason). With the 2020 presidential election approaching, many voters recognize where they vote may be. The Founding Fathers chose it as a compromise between allowing Congress to choose the president and having the president elected directly by the popular vote of the people. Necessity for recounts would be more likely in a popular vote system. Various potential solutions to the problems the College creates are discussed, including the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact formed in response to the 2000 election, in which fifteen states and the District of Columbia agree to assign their electoral votes to the candidate who wins the popular vote. Since the mid-19th century, when all electors have been popularly chosen, the Electoral College has elected the candidate who received the most (though not necessarily a majority) popular votes nationwide, except in four elections: 1876, 1888, 2000, and 2016. Back to our Florida example. The first problem with the Electoral College is that it gives more weight to voters in small states than those in more populous ones, says DeRosa. As the 2000 election reminded us, the Electoral College does make it possible for a candidate to win the popular vote and still not become president. Votes: 3. Now, it has happened twice in 20 . The difference between these two states of 537,943 is the largest in the Electoral College. The concept of Electoral College may lead to social tensions. In the case of the 2000 election, for all House sizes less than 492, the Electoral College goes to Bush. There's a debate over whether the Electoral College represents the interest of the country adequately. Proponents of the Electoral College say the system serves its purpose, despite the fact that the candidate who wins the popular vote doesn't always win the election. The first draft of the U.S. Constitution—the Virginia Plan—proposed that Congress choose the president. If Pers. WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Heading into the 2020 presidential election, three in five Americans favor amending the U.S. Constitution to replace the Electoral College with a popular vote system, marking a six-percentage point uptick since April 2019.This preference for electing the president based on who receives the most votes nationwide is driven by 89% of Democrats and 68% of independents. 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. This helps to protect rural and small-town Americans. The Electoral College is made up of 538 electors who cast votes to decide the President and Vice-President of the United States. The Electoral College is a block, or weighed, voting system designed to give more power to the states with more votes, but allows for small states to . Over the years there have been efforts to do away with the Electoral College — especially after 2000, when it awarded Republican George W. Bush the White House after Al Gore won the popular vote. Popular vote definition, the vote for a U.S. presidential candidate made by the qualified voters, as opposed to that made by the electoral college. The president however won 304 electoral college votes compared to Clinton's 227, a . In 2016, for instance, Democrat Hillary Clinton received nearly 2.9 million more votes than Trump in the presidential election, after racking up more lopsided wins in big states like New York and California. The NPVIC would go into effect if states representing at least 270 electoral college votes adopt the legislation. Bigger influence of minorities. The presidential election is performed by . 2) Travel and information-gathering was hard in the 1700s. Because we use the Electoral College, it has come to occur on numerous occasions that a candidate with a higher percentage of the popular vote is defeated by his political opponent by the electoral tally (Glennon 19), thus defeating the purpose of a Democracy. Understood in one way, these people have 3.18 times as much clout in the Electoral College as an average American, or 318% (as listed in the pdf chart, downloadable below). This has happened four times. For the popular vote, however, Hillary Clinton received 65.8 million votes, while Donald Trump received 62.9 million votes. Eliminating the Electoral College, or nullifying it with the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact, would eliminate these benefits and radically change American politics. Helpful Not Helpful. The US has elected two minority presidents in the last 20 years because of the Electoral College. Since then, the Electoral College system has cost four candidates the race after they received the popular vote — most recently in 2000, when Al Gore lost to George W. Bush. The Founding Fathers chose it as a compromise between allowing Congress to choose the president and having the president elected directly by the popular vote of the people. In 2000, Al Gore outpolled George W. Bush by more than . Not all elections are decided by popular vote. Currently, the Electoral College serves to ratify the separate popular votes of the 50 states and the District of Columbia, with 48 states awarding electoral votes to the . The Constitutional Convention rejected this parliamentary model. Pro #2: It provides a clean, widely accepted ending to the election (most of the time). Amending the Electoral College: The 12th Amendment. In 1992, President Bill Clinton was elected with less than 50% of the total popular vote as well. The NPVIC would go into effect if states representing at least 270 electoral college votes adopt the legislation. As a result each of Wyoming's three electoral votes corresponds to 177,556 people. President Trump had earned 232 electoral. The Electoral College comprises 538 electors; each state is allowed one elector for each Representative and Senator (DC is allowed 3 electors as established by the Twenty-Third Amendment). This institution is oft-discussed in political media . The goal of the Electoral College was to improve equality in voting on a national level. For all House sizes greater than 654, Gore would have been elected President. The Obsolescence Debate . Those Electors will then vote for the president 41 days after the general election. Next, a candidate that loses the popular vote but wins the electoral vote must turn out to be a particularly unsuccessful and unpopular president. Barbara Boxer. It was created to be. Electors Most states require that all electoral votes go to the candidate who receives the most votes in that state. Correlation between popular vote and electoral college votes. More recently, in 1992, the Electoral College boosted the legitimacy of Democrat Bill Clinton, who won with only 43 percent of the popular vote but received over 68 percent of the electoral vote. Here Are the Disadvantages of the Electoral College. If a candidate received 60% of the popular vote in a state, for example, s/he could be given 60% of the electoral votes. With two elections out of the last 5 (as of 2016) having an Electoral College winner not winning the popular vote, the pros and cons of this system are frequently debated. The states' approval of the compact is a victory for democracy and the principle of "one person, one vote." By dividing the population by electoral votes, we can see that Wyoming has one "elector" for every 177,556 people and Texas has one "elector" for about every 715,499. Electoral Vote page. This prevents 2-3 very large states from overwhelming the popular vote count so that a greater portion of the country can be represented by the government. But the winner of the popular vote may end up losing the election, like Al Gore did in 2000 and Hillary Clinton in 2016. The first problem with the Electoral College is that it gives more weight to voters in small states than those in more populous ones, says DeRosa. The Electoral College is a constitutionally mandated process that determines who serves as president and vice president of the United States every four years. . The electoral college gives small states more weight in the political process than their population would otherwise confer. Instead, state legislatures were entrusted with appointing electors. The National Popular Vote Interstate Compact (NPVIC) is an interstate compact to award member states' presidential electors to the candidate that receives the most votes nationwide. But to win the presidency, you need more than a plurality (the most electoral votes . The President of the United States is not chosen through a national popular vote because the framers of the Constitution adopted the Electoral College, which gives each state as many votes as it . The Founders set up the Electoral College for a few reasons: 1 To balance the interests of northern and southern states However, each state's total allotment is based on its representation in the Senate (always two people) and the House (varies by population). The Electoral College is why each presidential race comes down to the . A Democracy exists if we the people have "the right to self- governance." How The Electoral College Saves Us From The Mob Rule Of Democracy. The electoral college was created by our forefathers for a purpose, and the reasons that support their decision still remain. The Electoral College system was established by Article II of the U.S. Constitution in 1788. The Electoral College website now has an easy-to-remember address. General public is used to this concept. The Obsolescence Debate . See how your state racks up against the rest on our Population vs. Now a California millionaire named . The Founding Fathers created the Electoral College as a compromise between electing the president via a vote in Congress only or via a popular vote only. Makes it harder for populists to enter the political landscape. As of December 2021, 15 states and Washington, D.C . The Electoral College Debate. Kennedy won 303 Electoral College votes to Nixon's 219 votes. The Electoral College was created by delegates in 1787 as a compromise between electing the president by a vote in Congress, or electing through a popular vote by qualified citizens. Otherwise, the impetus to blame the nation's woes on the Electoral College system will never materialize. Opponents of the Electoral College are disturbed by the possibility of electing a minority president (one without the absolute majority of popular votes). The larger the Electoral College, the more likely it will reflect the outcome of the popular vote. Electoral votes in each state based on the popular vote, though the popular vote does not directly decide presidential winners. These 16 jurisdictions hold 196 electors. The popular vote is simply the total votes cast for each candidate across the whole of the United States. NASHVILLE, Tenn . The primary purpose of the Electoral College is to maintain the power of the states and to support the idea that the election is decided by the states. In modern elections, the first candidate to get 270 of the 538 total electoral votes wins the White House. 1 . The Founding Fathers established it in the Constitution, in part, as a compromise between the election of the President by a vote in Congress and election of the President by a popular vote of qualified citizens. What is the Purpose of the Electoral College? Make sure to update your bookmarks! Individual votes count, but in a way that is represented by states. The debate over the continued use of the Electoral College resurfaced during the 2016 presidential election, when Donald Trump Hillary Clinton [Prior to the 2016 election, there were four times in US history when a candidate won the presidency despite losing the popular vote: 1824 (John Quincy Adams over Andrew Jackson), 1876 (Rutherford B. Hayes over Samuel Tilden), 1888 (Benjamin Harrison . Without the Electoral College, a huge popular margin in one state (like California or Texas) could decide the entire election. The Electoral College is meant to protect minority voting interests from the majority and to prevent special interests not in the public interest.In all cases the purpose of much of the Constitution that creates the United States' "Mixed-Republic", including the Electoral College, is to safeguard our Republic against different forms of . Discover how your in. Back in 1787, when the delegates to the Constitutional Convention were trying to figure out how the President should be . The Electoral College is outlined in Article II, Section 1, of the U.S. Constitution. Donald Trump dominated the Electoral College, but solidly lost the popular vote. But that is less a product of the Electoral . Two of the nation's last three presidents won the presidency in the Electoral College, even though they lost the popular vote nationwide. Since 2006, the national popular vote bill has passed in 15 states plus the District of Columbia. 2008 Population vs. Electors, State-by-State information (pdf, 60.5kb) ; For House sizes between 492 and 654, a troubling scenario is created: the results fluctuate (seemingly randomly . The Electoral College requires more than just the most raw votes to win — it requires geographic balance. Against: It is possible that the winner may not receive the most popular votes. Proportional representation may more closely mirror the popular vote total. The same thing happens in the Senate to choose the Vice President. The Electoral College system was established by Article II of the U.S. Constitution in 1788. The electoral college, proponents say, makes U.S. presidential elections less contentious by providing a clear ending. The National Popular Vote Interstate Compact (NPVIC) is an interstate compact to award member states' presidential electors to the candidate that receives the most votes nationwide. The Constitutional Convention in 1787 settled on the Electoral College as a compromise between delegates who thought Congress should select the president and others who favored a direct nationwide popular vote. One leading reform initiative is the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact, which calls on states to agree to allocate their electoral votes to whichever candidate wins the national popular . In 2000, when Al Gore won the popular vote by about 550,000 votes but Mr. Bush won the Electoral College, such a split hadn't happened in more than a century. The Electoral College refers to the process of selecting a president. The number 538 is the sum of the nation's 435 Representatives, 100 Senators, and 3 electors given to the District of Columbia.. Every state gets a minimum of three electoral votes. In a presidential election, the popular vote simply means an aggregate of all voters from all states in America. The advantage of the electoral college is that it promotes fairness from a regional perspective. Ahead of Election Day 2020, we asked a mom and veteran political strategist to explain what the Electoral College is, how it works, and why it was created—all in terms simple enough for a child . The Electoral College is a process, not a place. The bill will take effect when enacted by states with 74 more electoral votes to reach a majority (270 of 538). The Electoral College was never intended to be the "perfect" system for picking the. Pro #2: It provides a clean, widely accepted ending to the election (most of the time). Every state has opted for popular election at least since the Civil War.Calls to AbolishModern opponents of the Electoral College argue against what they call antidemocratic aspects of the institution, criticizing both the intermediary electors and the state-by-state system of voting.Calls to fundamentally change the Electoral College reached a . 2016 was the fifth time in US history that a presidential candidate won the Electoral College but lost the popular vote. On Dec. 14, as electors gathered across the country to cast their ballots, Joseph R. Biden Jr. had earned 306 electoral votes, 36 more than needed to win. Trump wins without claiming the popular vote he will become the only President in history to do so twice. Every state gets a minimum of three electoral votes. The Founders believed that most common citizens of the day were poorly educated and uninformed on . The obvious difference between the popular vote and electoral vote is the use of electors, or representatives for each state, in the electoral college. 1. For example, in the United States, presidential elections are decided through the Electoral College. The electoral college gives small states more weight in the political process than their population would otherwise confer. The electoral college is similar to the . Each state receives an allotment of electors equal to its number of Congressional delegates. Although, based on the allocation of electors to states, it's still not a guarantee that the popular vote and Electoral College vote will match. It creates the possibility of a minority president being elected. Popular vote vs. electoral vote: here's why they both matter. The Presidential Ticket that wins the most popular votes in Florida wins all 29 electors - no matter if the candidates win by 5 votes, five thousand or even five million. The Electoral College keeps high population states and regions from deciding the presidency. But there is no doubt that the greatest benefit of the Electoral College is the powerful incentive it creates against regionalism. This raises anew the question of why we still have the Electoral College and what purpose, if any, it serves. However, each state's total allotment is based on its representation in the Senate (always two people) and the House (varies by population). Twice in this young century the winner of the popular vote did not become the president. In U.S. history, the electoral college winner has failed to secure the popular vote 5 times. When citizens go to the polls to vote for a new president they are actually voting for persons to represent them from their state called Electors. The College contains 538 electors, and it requires a majority vote of 270 for a president to be elected. Because we use the Electoral College, it has come to occur on numerous occasions that a candidate with a higher percentage of the popular vote is defeated by his political opponent by the electoral tally (Glennon 19), thus defeating the purpose of a Democracy. This would prevent one large, populous state from overly swaying a national election. In all but two states, the candidate who wins a majority of popular votes also wins all of that state's electoral votes ("winner take . The Founders sought to guard against this as they debated the principles they would incorporate in the Constitution. There was purpose in the design of the Electoral College. Thus, one's vote does not exactly decide who becomes president; the elected individuals do. The Americans who dispute the validity of the electoral college have a fundamental misunderstanding of purpose of both electoral college and the President of the United States. 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