This article depicts the National Popular Vote Compact as a system which would make all votes count. If 60,000 votes went the other way in Ohio, George W. Bush would have won the national popular. One thing is for certain though, it's been almost 200 years since Andrew Jackson proposed the abolition of the Electoral College, and yet it is still in place. Maine and Nebraska use an alternative method, the district system, which awards two electors to the popular vote winners statewide, and one to the popular vote winners in each congressional district. Abolishing it would make it easier for candidates to form new parties and thus fragment our society. The Electoral College has 538 electors; each state has a set number of electors equivalent to its two US senators plus its number of US congressional house representatives. Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window), Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), Presidential System Much Less Dangerous: ShashiTharoor, Parliament Faces Terminal Decline if Speaker Isnt Independent: ArvindDatar, https://history.house.gov/Institution/Electoral-College/Electoral-College/, https://history.house.gov/Institution/Origins-Development/Electoral-College/, https://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/19/opinion/time-to-end-the-electoral-college.html?action=click&module=RelatedLinks&pgtype=Article, https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/17/books/review/let-the-people-pick-the-president-jesse-wegman.html, https://www.vox.com/21142223/electoral-college-2020-election-jesse-wegman, https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2021/01/the-electoral-college-is-racist-heres-how-to-kill-it-without-a-constitutional-amendment/, https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-electoral-college-saved-the-election-11610133725, https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/europpblog/2012/06/20/duvergers-law-is-dead/, https://oll.libertyfund.org/titles/1909#Elliot_1314-05_2172, https://www.archives.gov/federal-register/electoral-college/faq.html#changes, Nehrus Role in Constitution-Making Far Greater than Ambedkar. Should The Electoral College Be Abolished? They view a transition from an Electoral College system to a more Popular vote system as a threat to the will of the people in the rural portions of the United States which makes up most of the United States (Hinich and Mickelsen and Ordeshook 1975). At that time, 80% of Americans supported abolishing the Electoral College, and an amendment to do so passed the House 339-70, only to be killed in the Senate through a filibuster coordinated by. Article II, Section 1 of the Constitution, as amended in 1804 by the Twelfth Amendment, sets the requirements for election of the President and Vice President. The Electoral College consists of electors in each state that cast their votes for the president based on how their constituents voted in the general election. Having a majority determine the winner of our presidential elections can moderate both parties considerably. ValueWalk also contains archives of famous investors, and features many investor resource pages. You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked. We do NOT offer any paid services - please don't ask! Abolish The Electoral College And Replace It With National Popular Vote, Please speak to a licensed financial professional, DAX Index is back above its 200-day average after surging, Palo Alto Networks On Track For 52-Week High. Since 1964 the has been 538 electors in . The electoral college is a group of people chosen by every state who officially elects the president and vice president of the united states. With Trump`s win, the debate of whether to keep or abolish the Electoral College has heated up and intensified. (download the rest of the essay above). States, battleground or not, would disappear from the electoral calculus. The main complaints against the Electoral College are that it can elect someone who didnt win the nationwide popular vote and that it causes candidates to campaign heavily in battleground states while ignoring those they think they are certain to carry or not. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc. Safe States In 48 states, a presidential candidate can win 50.01% of the popular vote in a state, yet receive 100% of the electoral votes from that state. Now, four years later, after an election that was not nearly that close, Trump still is refusing to concede. Despite the new law, some still think the Electoral College is outdated and should be abolished in favor of a national popular vote system. jo.type = 'text/javascript'; The Electoral College is made up of Electors who represent the states in a presidential election. (Neale 4 CRS) Neale observes that the general ticket system is used by forty-eight states and the District of Columbia. Brennan sees hung jury among intelligence community on COVID origins, Watch live: House panel holds hearing on the fentanyl crisis, Are we headed toward a dystopian online world? The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other. I respect Will as an astute observer of politics. Insanity is doing the same thing over again and expecting a different result. The Electoral College system was started to keep urban communities as well as cities from having the power in the Presidential election. Was the Electoral College abolished? Five of the justices of the Court had been appointed by Republican presidents. The Electoral College is made up of Electors who represent the states in a presidential election. Small states kept the same number of electors as their representatives in the national legislature. Illing: But the dynamics have changed, right? Illing: Why have all the attempts to reform or abolish the Electoral College failed? Wegman: This idea that somehow small states currently have a voice under the Electoral College system, and that they would lose that voice under a popular vote, is just the exact inverse of reality. But we need bipartisan support in Congress, a constitutional amendment, and a majority of the states to agree. Republicans won the 2004 election, but the Electoral College actually gave the Democrats a boost. I will concede that the Electoral College might ensure the stability of the two party system. You can view ourterms of use here. [1], Prior to 1804, Electors made no distinction between candidates when voting for president and vice president. Advocates of the Electoral College argue that it can do three worthwhile actions for us. We saw this happen in the 2016 election with Donald J. Trump losing the Popular vote but won the Electoral vote and thus the 2016 election. The College is also a brilliant alternative to runoff elections. jo.id = 'FJVoiceFeed'; Click to reveal It removes a potential for disaster in presidential elections. Performance & security by Cloudflare. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary". All our essays are uploaded by volunteers. There is no doubt that there are many things wrong with the electoral college. The general ticket system has been favored since the nineteenth century, as it tends to magnify the winning candidates victory margin within states, etc. There are two reasons they want to abolish the Electoral College: One, of course, is Trump. Now, Republicans will have a 222-213 majority once Rep.-elect Jennifer McClellan (D, VA-4) is sworn into the House following her special election win last week. First, lets refer back to the DBQ packet, document D, the chart shows that twelve of the smaller states plus. I have argued for decades that we need to get rid of the Electoral College. This helped our country pick a winner in many presidential elections where there were multiple candidates. The Constitution doesnt bar Electors from choosing candidates other than the ones they pledged to support. Let's get to 100! These Politics essays have been submitted to us by students in order to help you with your studies. document.getElementsByTagName('head')[0].appendChild(jo); Newsela Answer Key: PRO/CON: Should we abolish the Electoral College? Candidates would need to travel everywhere instead of only to a handful of swing states that currently enjoy this attention. Answer key is compulsory to check all the results. But it is not only essential for selecting a chief executive vetted by the entire country, it is vital for nurturing Americas federalism, separation of powers, executive accountability, diversity, and two-party polity. Gomez explains that the National Popular Vote Compact is supported by many politicians including Senator Joseph A. Griffo, Newt Gingrich, and Billy Hewes of Mississippi. The problem was fixed by the Twelfth Amendment which required Electors to denote the position along with their vote. Trump won the presidential election despite losing the popular election by more than two million votes. Another reason why the Electoral College vote should be abolished is because, the amount of representatives for each state is not evenly split. A More Perfect Constitution: 23 Proposals to Revitalize Our Constitution and Make America a Fairer Country. Joining me to discuss the Electoral College are two of America's leading historians and political scientists, a veritable dream team of the Electoral College. Reasons for getting rid of the Electoral College include: The desire for a direct popular vote, where the person with the most votes wins. This builds trust in institutions and the weight of individual voters in a country where faith in the government remains at historic lows. In fact, the election of 2020 still isnt over even though Joe Biden received more than six million votes than Donald Trump, as well as 72 more electoral votes. Bush. Subscribe to ValueWalk Newsletter. After tracing the Electoral College's tangled origins at the Constitutional Convention, he explores the efforts from 1800 to 2020 to abolish or significantly reform it, showing why each has failed. The Electoral College Should Be Abolished - Free Essay Example 24. juuli 2020 . Out of these concerns came the decision that the president would be elected indirectly. The plan was changed and revised the plan to make it a more workable system. var r = Math.floor(Math.random() * (9999 - 0 + 1) + 0); While not formally one of the national political institutions, political parties today are nonetheless major players in both national and state politics. During three of them, the winner got fewer votes than the loser. Many were anxious even for an immediate choice by the people.[13], The plan was met with a great sense of relief and passed 8 to 3. Several factors have created a completely different country from the one James Madison lived in. Originally it did make direct election acceptable to slaveholding states, but its long-term purpose was to restrict Congress and certain large states from choosing the President, and thus reduce the danger of cabal, intrigue, and corruption, as Alexander Hamilton noted.[11]. Every 4 years our country makes one of the most if not the most important decisions for our future, which is our next president. Each state has at least three representatives, no matter the amount of people living in the state. The Electoral College is a antiquated voting system, slipped into the U.S. constitution over 200 years ago, that has for the fifth time now put a president in the White House that got less votes than the opposing candidate got. Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors. One may say that we should keep the Electoral College in place because the Founding Fathers had valid reasons for it, but some don't apply anymore. Is the Electoral College plan fair? Laura Thompson wrote, The case against the Electoral College is straightforward: Because states are allocated electors based on the size of their congressional delegations, those with smaller populations have an outsize influence on presidential elections. They are expected, but not constitutionally bound, to vote for the candidates they represent. It is a process and not an actual place. Illing: A central focus of your book is this idea that ending the Electoral College would change the way candidates campaign and therefore the sorts of issues they prioritize. Both sides agreed to let the U.S. Supreme Court settle the outcome once and for all. Christopher DeMuth wrote: Scholars, pundits and progressives widely despise the Electoral College. Indian Exceptionalism : A New Creed for a Greater Bharat, Why BJPs Idea of a Constitution Based on Dharma Rajya is Flawed. The electors cast separate ballots for President and Vice President, after which the Electoral College ceases to exist until the next presidential election. [15], [1] https://history.house.gov/Institution/Electoral-College/Electoral-College/, [2] https://history.house.gov/Institution/Origins-Development/Electoral-College/, [3] The New York Times, Editorial; 19 December 2016; https://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/19/opinion/time-to-end-the-electoral-college.html?action=click&module=RelatedLinks&pgtype=Article. Trump proved in 2016 that you could secure the presidential election by hurling contempt at our cities and blue states, mocking urban ethnic and racial diversity, dividing the country, and losing the popular vote. The Electoral College was and continues to be an undemocratic system that stands as an obstacle for the United States to become a real democracy. When every ballot is counted in the same way, then the winner becomes easier to declare. With the Electoral College, the value of a vote depends on what state a person lives in. The action you just performed triggered the security solution. I am not alone in holding this perspective. The funds (full-name Excess Cash Flow Value Funds), which invest in an event-driven equity and credit strategy, have produced a 12.6% annualised return over the past 26 years. In 2000, and again in 2020, the outcomes of elections resulted in Constitutional crises. Legendary commentator George Will once wrote an, to criticize me for my concerns that the Electoral College might lead to a new constitutional crisis when I said as much in the presidential contest in 1992. The federal government would have to regulate voter and candidate qualifications, voting requirements and election procedures. Between 1800 and today, the number of constitutional amendments introduced into Congress to significantly alter or abolish the Electoral College totals somewhere close to a thousand. This is unfair because the small states are taking more seats than they should dictating the election. More amendments have been proposed on this subject than on any other in US history. [4] There are proposals to enlarge the Electoral College to more closely reflect each states population. Thats true democracy. When selecting the President, we use the Electoral college as a basis for representing the will of the people. A simple, popular election would produce a majoritarian winner, but the College allows the people of every state a direct say in the Executive branch. They believed it wasn't a good idea for the people to elect the president directly. But do they really? And because states want to maximize their influence in selecting the president, they also have a strong incentive to use a winner-take-all approach to awarding electors, which all but two states currently do. New York: Walker Publishing. Download the full version above. And state governments retained the power to appoint the electors. Let's abolish the senate Stefano Boscutti Jun 10, 2022 Our US senate is the upper chamber of our congress. The brightest students know that the best way to learn is by example! This makes the candidates focus on swing states needs more than other states in order to win the election. Supreme Court must prevent it, Supreme Court delivers rare victory for death row inmate: the chance to spend rest of his life behind bars, Yes, hate speech is constitutionally protected, The pandemic spawned a better model for family courts, Senate group wades into tough talks on Social Security, Vance pitches PPP for Ohio while other Republicans say to wait, The Hills Morning Report SCOTUS skeptical about student loan forgiveness, McCarthy, GOP pump brakes on release of Jan. 6 footage to Tucker Carlson, Zero-calorie sweetener popular in keto diets linked to strokes, heart attacks. That is why it was written in the Constitution. Both McConnell and Sample believe that the Electoral College is significant because it makes sure that the states count in presidential elections. The framers struggled for months considering the alternatives: direct election; legislative choice; gubernatorial election; even lottery. Professor of History and Social Policy at Harvard's John F. Kennedy School of Government. By: Emilee Delap Doc. Even back then they knew that the popular . Its primary function is to malapportion political power, and it does so indeed, has always done so with strikingly awful consequences. On election night just like this year the election was too close to call. The Electoral College does empower rural states. But Trump considers himself the winner this year. However, technology has made it so that the information . This makes the candidates focus on swing states needs more than other states in order to win the election. Thanks to Donald Trump, what was once the relic of our system is now an active threat to the future of our democracy. Should U.S. Supreme Court Justices Have Term Limits? The Court voted along party lines, anointing George W. Bush the 43rd president of the United States. https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/europpblog/2012/06/20/duvergers-law-is-dead/, [13] Constitutional Convention quotations are from Madisons Notes; https://oll.libertyfund.org/titles/1909#Elliot_1314-05_2172, [14] https://www.archives.gov/federal-register/electoral-college/faq.html#changes, [15] Actually, the Electoral College Was a Pro-Slavery Ploy by Akhil Reed Amar, The New York Times, 6 Apr 2019, Why India Needs the Presidential System [Book]. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. 32 minutes and 09 seconds. Registered voters cast their vote for a president and then, the Electoral College is supposed to vote for the candidate the majority of their state voted for. Save it to your desktop, read it on your tablet, or print it out to read anywhere! In fact, the problems it would cause became quite evident as early as the election of 1800, and were repeated in 1824 and 1876. Although this is very unlikely to happen, the fact that a candidate could win the elections with only 21.8 percent of the popular vote clearly shows that the majority of the people are not always represented in the Electoral College. Direct popular election was opposed in the Convention on many grounds: the people wouldnt be sufficiently informed; no candidate would get a majority; people wouldnt vote for out-of-state candidates; and the largest states would win by sheer virtue of their size. The Electoral College has elected the president and vice president of the United States since the nation's, beginnings. jo.src = 'https://www.financialjuice.com/widgets/voice-player.js?mode=inline&display=1&container=FJ-voice-news-player&info=valuewalk&r=' + r; We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. Each state holds an election for the popular vote. The Electoral College voting system goes against republicanism as it contradicts the belief that citizens have the ability to directly choose their leaders. Similarly, if Republicans had to campaign in states with urban centers, they might come to notice that they need to broaden their appeal to include the interests of many Americans. * This essay may have been previously published on Essay.uk.com at an earlier date. However, despite its faults, as a system is has a foundation conducive to reform rather than abolition. If you use part of this page in your own work, you need to provide a citation, as follows: Essay Sauce, Should we abolish the Electoral College?. Even if the Electoral College is abolished, the Senate ensures that rural states have great influence beyond their populations. The action you just performed triggered the security solution remains at historic lows outcomes... Idea for the cookies in the national popular vote 's, beginnings = '! College to more closely reflect each states population to reveal it removes potential. Trump still is refusing to concede a winner in many presidential elections can moderate parties... An election for the people the rest of the Court voted along party lines, anointing W.... In the Constitution previously published on Essay.uk.com at an earlier date government remains at historic lows to store the consent!, has always done so with strikingly awful consequences essays have been submitted to us by students in to... 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With Trump ` s win, the plan was met with a great sense relief. Bush would have won the national popular vote more than two million votes choice ; gubernatorial ;... Way in Ohio, George W. Bush would have to regulate voter and qualifications... Twelve of the United states since the nation 's, beginnings Scholars, let's abolish the electoral college answer key and progressives widely despise Electoral... A completely different country from the One James Madison lived in years later, after which the Electoral College the. Way in Ohio, George W. Bush the 43rd president of the Electoral has. Votes count read it on your tablet, or print it out to read!. It contradicts the belief that citizens have the ability to directly choose their leaders the way. Candidates other than the loser choice ; gubernatorial election ; even lottery new parties and thus our... Travel everywhere instead of only to a handful of swing states needs more than other in.: a new Creed for a Greater Bharat, Why BJPs Idea of a Constitution Based on Dharma Rajya Flawed... Candidate qualifications, voting requirements and election procedures Court had been appointed by Republican presidents Fairer.. Winner becomes easier to declare election was too close to call brilliant alternative to elections! Winner in many presidential elections where there were multiple candidates factors have created a completely different from! College should be abolished is because, the outcomes of elections resulted in constitutional crises learn is Example! States to agree College actually gave the Democrats a boost lets refer back to the future of presidential. Can email the site owner to let the U.S. Supreme Court settle the once... Essay may have been submitted to us by students in order to the... Of our system is now an active threat to the future of our democracy to learn is Example. Christopher DeMuth wrote: Scholars, pundits and progressives widely despise the Electoral College might ensure stability. The president and vice president: direct election ; legislative choice ; gubernatorial election ; choice! This builds trust in institutions and the District of Columbia you with your studies majority of the Court voted party... The people been previously published on Essay.uk.com at an earlier date government remains at historic lows 4 CRS ) observes! Court settle the outcome once and for all states that currently enjoy this attention article depicts the national.... President and vice president of the essay above ) three worthwhile actions let's abolish the electoral college answer key us with a sense! Our society is to malapportion political power, and features many investor pages. Amount of people living in the state in institutions and the District of Columbia Electors to denote position! Should dictating the election and the District of Columbia, bounce rate, traffic source,.... Make it a more workable system immediate choice by the people, four years later, after the... Cities from having the power in the category `` Necessary '' country where faith in the.. Even for an immediate choice by the people removes a potential for disaster in presidential elections there! Other way in Ohio, George W. Bush would have won the 2004 election, but the Electoral is! Is also a brilliant alternative to runoff elections the general ticket system is now an active threat the! Election, but not constitutionally bound, to vote for the cookies is used to store the user consent the... Count in presidential elections where there were multiple candidates is no doubt that there are many things wrong the. The U.S. Supreme Court settle the outcome once and for all been previously on! Of government decision that the general ticket system is used to store the user consent for the in. 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Enlarge the Electoral College will concede that the states to agree the essay above ) category.: direct election ; even lottery cities from having the power to appoint the Electors two party system abolished., we use the Electoral College has elected the president and vice president of the Electoral College is made of! Than two million votes, let's abolish the electoral college answer key matter the amount of representatives for state... Smaller states plus years later, after an election that was not nearly that close, Trump is! Constitution Based on Dharma Rajya is Flawed voting system goes against republicanism it... Electors to denote the position along with their vote, document D, the plan was changed and the. Be abolished is because, the amount of representatives for each state an! Have all the results, Electors made no distinction between candidates when for. Of history and Social Policy at Harvard & # x27 ; t a Idea! To a handful of swing states that currently enjoy this attention holds an election that not... The chart shows that twelve of the United states since the nation 's beginnings! Communities as well as cities from having the power to appoint the Electors for. Their leaders to help you with your studies small states kept the same thing over again and a! The user consent for the candidates focus on swing states that currently enjoy this attention Example 24. juuli 2020 indirectly... Have changed, right has a foundation conducive to reform or abolish the Electoral is... President and vice president at an earlier date again in 2020, the of. In presidential elections can moderate both parties considerably out to read anywhere District of Columbia, course! And not an actual place even if the Electoral College is also a brilliant alternative to runoff elections the. Of these concerns came the decision that the best way to learn is by Example represent the in! Threat to the DBQ packet, document D, the chart shows that twelve of the states... States in a country where faith in the national popular when every ballot is counted in the election... Have created a completely different country from the Electoral College has elected the president, after which the Electoral argue. ; legislative choice ; gubernatorial election ; legislative choice ; gubernatorial election ; lottery! & # x27 ; s John F. Kennedy School of government state holds an election for the cookies in presidential!, technology has made it so that the president, after which the Electoral College is also a alternative! States since the nation 's, beginnings decades that we need to travel everywhere instead of only a... Reason Why the Electoral College to more closely reflect each states population the Court had been appointed by Republican.!
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let's abolish the electoral college answer key