Moreover, 12 states control 53 percent of the votes in the Electoral College, leaving only 38 states that might even consider ratification. If you never have to appeal to the electorate because youre successfully suppressing some large part of it, then you have a broken system.. Sign up for notifications from Insider! Almost 70% of those events occurred in only 4 states: Ohio, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, and Florida. Below are some of the many benefits of the Electoral College. The Pros and Cons of the Electoral College - SmartAsset The threshold that election results must reach to begin an automatic recount is a 0.5% difference between the candidates. If the Presidential elections were determined by the popular vote only, then the accuracy of household counts would no longer play a role in determining who might make it into the White House. In most cases, a projected winner is announced on election night in November after you vote. Here are the most relevant benefits: 1. Renowned expert looks at the history of a constitutional provisionand the prospect for changing it. The Danger of the Attacks on the Electoral College - Imprimis The Constitution does not contain many provisions that outline the necessary qualifications to be an elector. Outgrowing the Electoral College - Purdue Policy Research Institute Blog The electoral college is no different as there are a few cons that need to be considered. It would mean candidates would have little reason to consider, say, the state of farming in Iowa or the opiate crisis in New Hampshire. The Electoral College makes elections more stable, and less likely to trigger contentious recounts. Direct democracy works only when all or at least most of the people participate in the process. Disadvantages of the Electoral College. There are arguments that the states with smaller populations are overrepresented in the Electoral College, because every state gets at least 3 electors regardless of population. 15, November 1, 2004, pp. Democratic electors in Nevada signing their ballots for the Electoral College in 2016. ThoughtCo, Apr. Stay up to date with what you want to know. By allocating electoral votes by the total number of representatives in a given state, the Electoral College allows more states to have an impact on the choice of the President. The House of Representatives picked Adams over Andrew Jackson, who had won the popular vote but only a plurality of the Electoral College. After doing a bit of reading and research, it seemed that the most standard answer . His talk was sponsored by Harvard Law Schools Graduate Program. Processes vary from state to state, with some choosing electors during state Republican and Democratic conventions, and some states listing electors names on the general election ballot. 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 . The Electoral College is a group of people that elects the president and the vice president of the United States. Working with an adviser may come with potential downsides such as payment of fees (which will reduce returns). If there is a tie vote within a states delegation, the states vote does not count. In national representation, each state and population district receives equal representation, in either the house or the senate, and that allows individual voters to still have a say in what happens. We asked Chris DeRosa, Ph.D., chair of the Department of History and Anthropology, to share his insights on the institution. Here are the most relevant benefits: Imagine a U.S. presidential election with no electoral college. During the COVID-19 pandemic, he partnered with Independent Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont on a proposal to provide $2000 stimulus checks to Americans. 4. List of the Top Advantages of the Electoral College 1. 8. They voted for a variety of candidates not on the ballot, but it did not change the outcome. The current structure of the Electoral college consists of 538 electors. United States Electoral College - Wikipedia Some American citizens dont get to vote for President. This is not an offer to buy or sell any security or interest. This disadvantage means some communities dont get to discuss relevant issues with the candidates for the White House. 3. Washington, D.C., also has three electoral votes, thanks to the 23rd Amendment, which gave the nation's capital as many electors as the state with the fewest electoral votes. This also worries critics of the electoral college. The same had thing happened in 2000. The Constitution allows for anyone who receives an electoral vote to be part of the decision-making process in Congress to select a President if no clear majority is present. 4. It is also the only time that the District of Columbia gets to act as a state since the 23rd Amendment to the Constitution allocates three electors to it as well. The Electoral College has racist origins when established, it applied the three-fifths clause, which gave a long-term electoral advantage to slave states in the South and continues to dilute the political power of voters of color. Some say the electoral college is key to maintaining whats good about U.S. politics, while others want to abolish the institution in favor of a more direct system. There will always be a concern about the tyranny of the majority in the United States, but the popular vote from electors or everyone is still a reflection of a desire to do what most people want. The Electoral College, which has benefited Republicans in some recent elections, also factors into debate over GOP bills aiming to change state-level election laws. How to get rid of the Electoral College | Brookings I will proudly support the legislation, provided that nothing more than technical changes are made to its current form, McConnell said in a press statement. Critics of the Electoral College system argue that by taking the selection of the president out of the hands of the public at large, the Electoral College system flies in the face of democracy. The Electoral College helps give rural states with lower populations an equal voice. The . The Electoral College increases the legitimacy and certainty of elections by magnifying the margin of victory, thereby diminishing the value of contentious recounts and providing a demonstrable election outcome and a mandate to govern. Penalties exist in other states. Otherwise, the impetus to blame the nation's woes on the Electoral College system will never materialize. One of the primary duties of the Electoral College is that it does an excellent job of protecting the best interests of the minority in each election. Under the current system, stolen votes only affect the outcome of one state rather than the national outcome. When individuals cast a ballot for the executive branch in the United States, then they are having their opinion counted in a statewide election. . Its just like in tennis, he said. List of the Advantages of the Electoral College 1. In fact, the Founders always intended that the statesnot the peopleselect the president. 9. Small states and battleground states hold disproportionate importance under the Electoral College that a popular vote system would eliminate, and, Levinson explained, are therefore unlikely to support any move to reduce their power. Washington DC: Office of the Federal Register, 2020. Due to the Electoral College process, candidates must get votes from multiple stateslarge and smallthus helping to ensure that the president will address the needs of the entire country. It doesnt require a 50% vote majority to create an electoral majority. To win, a candidate needs 270 electoral votes of the 538 that are up for grabs. 1585 Massachusetts Ave. As a part of their plan to separate powers and authority, the Founders created the Electoral College as the method by which the people could choose their highest government leaderthe presidentwhile avoiding at least some of the dangers of a direct election. "I think we will see a major sorting out across the country that is already underway, as we speak, as states move to change their laws or adopt new laws in response to this decision," he said. Benefits Of The Electoral College - 1956 Words - Internet Public Library A single national . If presidents were elected purely by popular vote, a candidate could win the presidency with less than 50% of the vote. There have been times when territories were converted to states as a way to alter the outcome of elections, but this issue has not occurred in the modern era. That means the general public may not have any control over who gets put into this critical role. Several developments have led me to alter my opinion on this institution: income inequality, geographic disparities, and how discrepancies between the popular vote and Electoral College are. Outgrowing the Electoral College. It guarantees that compromises are necessary while helping to provide protections for the minority who might see their rights trampled on without its structure. ", He added that the agenda of the so-called corporatists has "been a free rider in the Republican coalition for years now. Heres a map with the rest of the numbers. There is no federal law or Constitutional provision that requires them to vote according to the popular vote in their state either. "And I look forward to that.". https://www.nytimes.com/explain/2022/electoral-college-elections. Only Rutherford Hayes, with a 3% difference, won the electoral college despite being in the minority in a way that a recount wouldnt occur. That means anyone living in a territory of the United States does not receive the opportunity to vote for who goes into the White House. Here are some of their telling statements from the Constitutional Convention of 1787. But, as Mr. Trump had been told by his campaign aides and, eventually, even his attorney general, there were no legitimate claims of fraud sufficient to change the outcome of the race, and the seven states all certified Mr. Bidens Electoral College victory on Dec. 14, 2020. Each state gets a certain number of electors based on its total number of representatives in Congress, which reflects population numbers for that state. The Electoral College helps give rural states with lower populations an equal voice. The states, through the Electoral College, are empowered to choose the president and vice president. Depending on your perspective, that might sound like a change for the worse. Finally, the constitutional amendment must get a two-thirds vote from both houses of Congress and be ratified by three-fourths of the states. The Electoral Count Reform Act is meant to address ambiguities found in the Electoral Count Act of 1887. Hawley was the first Republican senator to announce that he would object to the certification of electoral votes from Pennsylvania during a joint session of Congress on January 6, 2021. The existence of a fiduciary duty does not prevent the rise of potential conflicts of interest. 2. That makes it one of the most unique election systems in the world today, especially since every other election in the U.S. uses the popular format. Although it doesnt allow the popular vote majority to control the final outcome of an election, there must still be a majority of state electoral votes available to secure the White House. Under the Electoral College system, it is possible for a presidential candidate to lose the nationwide popular vote, yet be elected president of the United States by winning in only a handful of key states. No elector has changed the outcome of an election in the United States by not voting for the candidate their individual voters wanted, but the structure of the Electoral College makes it a possibility. 5, 2023, thoughtco.com/why-keep-the-electoral-college-3322050. But the actual Electoral College vote takes place in mid-December when the electors meet in their states. On September 30, 2022, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Republican, joined Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, a Democrat, in voting to advance the Electoral Count Reform Act, a bill that would reform an antiquated law that was used as grounds in the effort to overturn the 2020 presidential election. It makes a difference how many masts there are, and what sails are up and which are down. How each allotment of electoral votes is given is based on the number of representatives in the House and the two senators which represent the state. June 17, 2023 at 6:00 a.m. By Aron Solomon. He said that this system wasnt perfect, but it was also at least excellent. The Founding Fathers believed that this structure would prevent the Executive Branch from falling to a person who did not have the necessary qualifications to serve Americans. 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. Time will tell whether that reform and others come to pass. Some argue that eliminating the electoral college would be an easy way to raise them and boost Americans engagement in the political process. Electors have the responsibility of offering ballots that are reflective of the will of the people in this structure. Access your favorite topics in a personalized feed while you're on the go. Under the above circumstances, it is probable that neither the Republicans nor the Democrats would hold a strong majority of seats in Congress. Because there is an even number of electoral votes, a tie is feasible. There was no other way beyond the newspaper or in-person meetings to let people know what was happening. Who the Electoral College really benefits - Vox 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. Even though many candidates ignore states where they think there isnt a chance for a successful outcome, the 2016 election proved that every state can be a swing state if given half of a chance. As Hillary Clinton put it in 2000: "In a democracy, we should respect the will of the people, and to me, that means it's time to do away with the Electoral College." With the Electoral College, all that matters is the final count of electoral votes, not actual votes, and that means a candidate may be supported by a minority only. That means each Senator represents one, as does each voting member of the House of Representatives. Bill Clinton was the primary recipient of this advantage for both of his elections. Advantages and Disadvantages of The Electoral College There have been some notable exceptions to this disadvantage, such as the 1972 contest when Nixon took 520 electoral votes over McGoverns 16. If youre a Democrat running for president, you dont have to spend too much time or money wooing voters in left-leaning California. Kennedy won 303 Electoral College votes to Nixon's 219 votes.. Remember the 2000 election when Al Gore won the popular vote, but lost the electoral college, and therefore the presidency? Without this structure, a candidate would spend most of their time in large population centers campaigning because thats where the popular vote would be won. The Disadvantages of the Electoral College. Photo credit: iStock.com/YinYang, iStock.com/SteveChristensen, iStock.com/Pamela Moore, matches you with up to three vetted financial advisors who serve your area, and you can interview your advisor matches at no cost to decide which one is right for you. After the Civil War, former slaves were counted as whole persons, not three-fifths of one, for purposes of electoral vote allotment. Thomas Jefferson and John Quincy Adams. This has already happened exactly four times in the nation's history: It is sometimes reported that Richard M. Nixon received more popular votes in the 1960 election than winner John F. Kennedy, but official results showed Kennedy with 34,227,096 popular votes to Nixon's 34,107,646. Stop by SmartAssets. Its effects are largely random, and can be expected to change over time. But because the Electoral College has worked just as the Founding Fathers intended for over 200 years does not mean that it should never be modified or even abandoned completely. So take Washington, D.C., as an example, says DeRosa. In New Mexico, electors can be charged with a felony if they abandon their pledge, and in Oklahoma a faithless elector could face a misdemeanor charge. The Electoral College is responsible for disenfranchising, in effect, huge swaths of American voters, said Doug McAdam, a professor of sociology who studies American politics. Electoral College | USAGov "I really do think that this is going to be a watershed moment in American politics," he said on a call with reporters on Friday. If you dont live in a swing state like Pennsylvania, Florida, Ohio, Michigan, Wisconsin and more, you probably wont see as many ads, have as many canvassers come to your door or get polled as frequently. Because of the structure of the Electoral College, this can lead to voters choosing not to vote because they feel like their vote is not going to matter anyway. "More and more red states, they're going to become more red, and purple states are going to become red, and the blue states are going to get a lot bluer," he said. 4. Why, then, maintain a system whose historical justifications, according to Levinson, have long receded? The legislation aims to guarantee a peaceful transition from one president to the next, after the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol exposed how the current law could be manipulated to disrupt the process. 8-10, https://www.heritage.org/the-constitution/report/the-electoral-college-enlightened-democracy. The substance of this bill is common sense, McConnell said. It's time to abolish the Electoral College | Brookings The electoral college is no different as there are a few cons that need to be . Supporters of the Electoral College want every state to have a say in the outcome of an election, but the candidates behave in ways that the Founding Fathers feared they would by targeting a majority population group. Hillary Clinton won . Since all of the electoral votes go toward the candidate that wins the popular vote in a state, if a state has a majority of people who vote for a certain party and a voter votes for the other party, his vote does not have any effect on the election outcome. If you live in Guam, Puerto Rico, the Northern Mariana Islands, or the U.S. Virgin Islands, then you currently receive taxation without clear representation an issue that caused the rebellion of the colonies in the first place. The electoral college means that swing states which arent necessarily the most representative of the country as a whole get most of the attention. One reason that some analysts support the electoral college is that it encourages candidates to pay attention to small states and not just get out the vote in big, populous states and cities. During his re-election campaign, he finished with 49.2% of the popular vote. 2. The stated rationale for the plan was that Mr. Bidens victories in those states would be overturned once Mr. Trumps allies could establish their claims of widespread voting fraud and other irregularities, and that it was only prudent to have the alternate slates of electors in place for that eventuality. This means there is a reasonable certainty as to how the government will run, no matter which major party in the US winds up with the white house. "Reasons to Keep the Electoral College." 6. Abandoning the Electoral College to uphold true democracy When all vacancies have been filled, the presidential electors shall proceed to perform the duties required of them by the constitution and laws of the United States. There have been five elections in the United States where the eventual winner didnt receive a majority of the vote. Several states have already agreed to assign their electoral votes to the candidate who wins the popular vote if the compact achieves a clear majority. This is because fraudulent votes may win the state, securing the electoral votes, but it would make no difference for the candidate to win that state with 100 stolen votes or 100,000 since the candidate would secure the same electoral votes regardless.5 Under a national popular vote system, though, votes stolen in one state would have an impact beyond that states border, since those illegitimate votes would be added to the national vote total. U.S. voter participation rates are already quite low. 7. Cleveland ran again four years later and won back the White House. In effect, the bill simply shortened general copyright protections down to 56 years. A special commission named by the House chose Hayes over Samuel J. Tilden, after 20 electoral votes in Florida, Louisiana and South Carolina were disputed. It makes it very hard for a third party to break through at the national level and increases the risk that a third party could spoil a candidates chance of winning, which in turn discourages people from voting for third-party candidates. It has served its purpose well with few exceptions over its history. More recently, Hawley has sought to fuse anti-corporate sentiment with burgeoning social conservative priorities on the right. This is because even if a state votes one way, the electoral college can vote another. Even the harshest critics would have trouble proving that in more than 200 years of operation, the Electoral College system has produced bad results. A history professor shares his insights on the governmental institution that has increasingly become the deciding factor in American presidential races. To be ratified and become effective, a constitutional amendment must also be approved by the legislatures of 39 out of the 50 states.