OPINIONS. The winner of the popular vote may not win the presidency (ie: need 270 electoral votes). Is it fair? A constitutional amendment abolishing the electoral college would be difficult to enact. Found insideThese are the only ways to calm our anger, forge a new path forward, and deal with twentyfirst-century challenges. In a closely contested direct popular election, every precinct across the country might require close examination, rather than a handful of states or precincts. This will allow us to keep netivist alive and available to
The highly expressive ballot collects more data, and then fully utilizes it to maximize election accuracy. If democracy means the majority rules, the Electoral College is an undemocratic institution. The following is the official statement of position from the LWV US website: Selection of the President The League’s Position Statement of Position on Selection of the President, as announced by the National Board, January 1970, revised March 1982, updated June 2004 and revised by the 2010 Convention: The League of Women Voters of the United States believes that the direct-popular-vote method for electing the President and Vice President is essential to representative government. 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. Unfortunately for the government opposition groups managed to get enough signatures to launch a popular vote opposing construction of a second tunnel. Our moderators will now review this comment and act accordingly. Congrats you just reached a new level on Netivist. navajocodetalkersadmin on July 23, 2015 - 7:18 pm in Pros and Cons. II. The Electoral College is also the reflection of the federal character of the United States. Also support uniform voting qualifications and procedures for Presidential elections. This past week, Colorado joined a growing list of states that have signed on to the National Popular Vote Compact (NPVC).The NPVC is a proposed interstate compact in which the signatory states agree that they will appoint their presidential electors in accordance with the national popular vote rather than their own state electorate's vote. When citizens cast their ballots for president in the popular vote, they elect a slate of electors. Recently Updated. The public is at power in a democracy, their right to vote decides the fate of the country/community. Large-state delegates such as Madison of Virginia naturally favored direct popular election. . The Electoral College system was established by Article II of the U.S. Constitution in 1788. A candidate could be elected without the popular vote. Home; What is Homeopathy; What to Expect; How to Begin; pros and cons of popular vote A further undemocratic element is the fact that in California at le. Already have an account on netivist? Any state legislature could enact legislation that would change how the Governor (or Mayor of D.C.) ap - points its electors. Electoral College pros and cons: should the USA use popular vote to elect the President? There is an important debate on whether or not the Electoral College should be reformed or even suppressed. 26th Amendment Research Paper. . . The strategic use of referendums by leaders often confers legitimacy but it may also reflect the power struggle between leaders, groups, and institutions and in doing so not provide a democratic result for the citizenry of a country. Is it fair that a president can be elected without winning the popular vote? Pros: The 5 star ballot is highly expressive, showing both level of support and preference order. 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. 10, James Madison identified our Constitution with "popular government." Power belongs to the people, but popular government does not mean unimpeded majority rule. Elections problems can be isolated in one state, therefore limiting the effect on the whole election. Post Voting Period. Perhaps direct election of the president is a good idea. According to Patterson (2013), Bush lost in the popular vote in the 2000 election, however, he was elected president. By Amani Sawari. 10, James Madison identified our Constitution with "popular government." Power belongs to the people, but popular government does not mean unimpeded majority rule. Bush: 271 electoral votes and 47.9% Gore: 266 electoral votes and 48.4% Lowering the voting age to 16 therefore increases the number of elections in which young people can gain the habit of voting. Perhaps direct election of the president is a good idea. Found inside" --Cass R. Sunstein, The New Republic "Everyone who cares about how our government works should read this thoughtful book." --Washington Lawyer On average, studies show that falls in line with historical averages showing around 60 percent of eligible voters casting a vote in presidential election years. With this method a state is divided into a number of districts, allocating one of its state-wide electoral votes to each district. A constitutional amendment abolishing the electoral college would be difficult to enact. Keep up the good work. Pros and Cons of the Electoral College. In direct democracy, some issues would be black and white, and more often than not, would involve a complicated set of benefits and drawbacks that should be examined carefully before votes go out. List of the Pros of Using the Popular Vote. These 16 jurisdictions hold 196 electors. Electoral College Pros And Cons. Just login. Like 89.1 WEMU on Facebook and follow us on Twitter, — Lisa Barry is the host of All Things Considered on WEMU. If you are new to netivist, please create your account for free and start collecting your netivist points! He thinks a second tunnel would be a catastrophe and is 100% convinced that the disease increase is a direct consequence of . But trying to work around the Constitution isn't. By John Samples September 2007. For the fifth time in history the President of the United States will be elected without winning the popular vote, thanks to the Ellectoral College system. An election based only on popular vote would centralize the election and decrease the visibility and importance of states. Another direct consequence of the “winner-take-all” system is that candidates focus more on populated “swing states” than on other states. Your vote is anonymous. If you change your mind, you can change your vote simply by clicking on another option. The concept of democracy is far from new, but this comprehensive volume addresses some of the volatile questions that continue to puzzle even the best of us. Cons: In traditional PR systems, parties fill their . NOTE: Your account might be penalized should we not find any wrongdoing by this user. Twice in the last five elections it . time to move to the direct popular election of presidents. 9 Pros Of Democracy 1. The League of Women Voters believes, therefore, that the Electoral College should be abolished. But trying to work around the Constitution isn't. By John Samples September 2007. Found inside – Page 136Other objections to direct election can be dismissed quickly. It is said that abolishing ... The pros of direct election overwhelmingly outweigh the cons. Found inside – Page iiThis book is open access under a CC BY 4.0 license. This book addresses the peculiarities of the current presidential election system not yet addressed in other publications. If it contains abusive or inappropriate language its author will be penalized. "--The Chronicle of Higher Education. Jeff Manza and Christopher Uggen, who understand the vastness of the jailers' reach, follow the story out of the cell and into the voting booth. Credit Wikipedia Media Commons / wikipedia.org, U-M professor emeritus of political science and public policy John Chamberlin, League of Women Voters of the Ann Arbor Area Logo, Credit League of Women Voters of the Ann Arbor Area / lwvannarbor.org, League of Women Voters of the Ann Arbor Area, In The Public Interest: Discussing Ranked Choice Voting And The Reality Of Majority Rules In Voting, In The Public Interest: LWVAAA Working To Grow Number Of Young Voters, In The Public Interest: Information About The Upcoming Election In Washtenaw County. 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. To request permission for use please contact our exclusive licensing partner Adcetera at collegefactual@adcetera.com. Found inside... it is irresponsible not to consider this important circumstance when weighing the pros and cons of moving to a direct national election. The goal of the Electoral College was to improve equality in voting on a national level. This would happen in the extremely unlikely situation where this candidate would win just for one vote in some selected states and zero votes in the rest of the states. Here are some of the pros and cons of the Electoral College. There is an election taking place November 5th, and voters in many Washtenaw County communities will be voting on a variety of issues. What is the position of the League of Women Voters about the Electoral College? However, some critics argue that the advantages of a direct popular election including reflecting democratic principals, outweigh the disadvantages. Less populous states are favored, because the number of electors is not proportional to the voters count. You will not receive any promotional materials from third parties. . That year, Trump lost the popular vote by the biggest margin of any other US president who in turn won the Electoral College and the presidency. Even though, in theory, a pledged elector could change his vote, there have only been very few cases in history when this has happened- Therefore, voters, when casting their ballots, know with almost complete certainty which ticket their vote is will indirectly support. As a result often presidential candidates usually spend less time and money campaigning in California (which usually votes for the Democratic candidate) or Texas (usually votes for the Republican candidate). Found insideTHE INSTITUTE FOR POLITICAL INNOVATION The authors will donate all royalties from the sale of this book to the Institute for Political Innovation. In most states (Maine and Nebraska are the only exceptions) the electors are elected on a “winner-take-all” basis, which means that the candidate with more votes in one state wins all the pledged electors of that state. The official general election results gave Trump 304 Electoral College votes and 46.09% of the popular vote (62,984,825), and Hillary Clinton received 227 . PR can also strengthen consensus-building because alliances and coalitions are often required to govern in a PR system. In any direct popular election, these medium-sized states would have to compete with large, densely popular states for even less attention of the candidates than they currently enjoy. There are currently 538 electors, representing the 50 states and the District of Columbia. Found inside – Page 738... and the subsequent election of Arnold Schwarzenegger, reverberated throughout the United States. Direct Democracy: Pros and Cons Proponents assert that ... PRO: Allowing prisoners to vote would reform America's outdated prison policies. Gore won the popular vote, but lost the Electoral College. Found inside – Page 263But the greatest of all objections to a direct election of President by popular vote is the opportunity for political chicanery . Pros, cons of Electoral College debated as electors prepare to vote. Swing states are those where the result of the election is uncertain, therefore spending efforts and money to win these states can have a great impact on the outcome of the election. In the 2016 election, only 58 percent of eligible voters went to the polls. Join with confidence, netivist is completely advertisement free. This would prevent one large, populous state from overly swaying a national election. The National Popular Vote Initiative (NPV) Congressional Research Service Summary The National Popular Vote (NPV) initiative proposes an agreement among the states, an interstate compact that would effectively achieve direct popular election of the President and Vice President without a constitutional amendment. Here are the Electoral College pros and cons: List of Pros of Electoral College. Steven C. Markoff, Chairman and CEO of A-Mark Financial Corporation, a Santa Monica-based company (originally named A-Mark Coin Company), has been active in documenting the pros and cons of controversial issues since 1986.He then created an organization to help pursue this effort, and after several iterations, that organization became ProCon.org on July 12, 2004. Despite strong support for direct election of the president, a number of hurdles impede change. Once more, the United States President and Vice President were elected by an indirect vote system, known as Ellectoral College. The popular vote currently gives every citizen—Californians and Texans, Hawaiians and Mainers, Alabamans and Oregonians—an equal say in choosing the president. 964 Words4 Pages. Presents refutations of arguments in support of direct election of the President and, assembling supportive data on electoral and popular votes, argues for retention of the present electoral system Abstract: The National Popular Vote (NPV) plan is the latest in a long line of schemes designed to replace the Electoral College. Not only it already happened five times, but in theory, a candidate could win the presidency with only 22% of the popular vote in a two-candidates race. For in a direct popular election, there would be every incentive for a multitude of minor parties to form in an attempt to prevent whatever popular majority might be necessary to elect a president. Found inside – Page 330I think that direct election will provide a great impetus to registration and voting . ... The pros and cons of its merits have been argued time and again . This report monitors the National Popular Vote's (NPV) progress in the states. Richards earned a master's degree at Carnegie Mellon University. Pros 1. Critics, on the other hand, argue that the Electoral College is less democratic than a direct popular vote, and that the . In this edition of our bi-weekly conversation with the League of Women Voters of the Ann Arbor Area, WEMU's Lisa Barry speaks with the league's Roddy Wares about their visits to Washtenaw County high schools to talk civics and encourage 18 year-olds to vote. If you're a United States citizen, 18 years of age or older, you probably think you have the right to vote for presidential candidates in the national election. Proportional Representation (PR) is an electoral system in which parties gain seats in direct proportion to the number of votes they receive. attention in election campaigns under the Electoral College. "Vendors and election jurisdictions generally state that they do not transmit election results from precincts via the Internet, but they may transmit them via a direct modem connection. It is especially so when tax decrease require only a simple majority vote. Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Nevada, New Hampshire, Ohio and Virginia are likely going to be considered swing states, where a minor increase in the popular vote could have an extremely important impact for the chances of a candidate. Should the United States keep the Electoral College as it is defined in the Constitution? The electoral college encourages a two-party system and rewards candidates who have broad appeal. WEMU's Lisa Barry talks with Geoff Smereck, Director of Voter Services for the League of Women Voters of the Ann Arbor Area, about what voters will see on their local ballots and reminds them of new rules and policies impacting voters that are now in place. 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