Smaller States & the entire Midwest would end up losing all power - & we cant let that happen. Every vote would count equally instead. Redirecting to https://m.startribune.com/one-clear-result-of-the-2020-election-at-last-let-s-abolish-the-electoral-college/. Source: Daily Kos Elections. Myth No. We survived. Critics of the system would argue that the elections of Ronald Reagan and Donald Trump are evidence that this impact is no longer present in U.S. politics. These Americans, chosen for loyalty to their political party, will vote for the presidential candidate who won their states popular vote. Whether youre Republican or Democrat, the Electoral College is unfair. The Constitution is silent on whether states or the electors themselves ultimately can decide which candidate gets the electors vote, and the U.S. Supreme Court has not addressed that issue in the handful of cases it has considered related to the Electoral College. The only point in this election where the possibility of either of the candidates losing the popular vote but still claiming an electoral victory was on July 30, when a FiveThirtyEight model showed Clinton clinching the popular vote by less than 1 percent, but still losing to Trump by two electoral votes. So far, 15 states plus the District of Columbia have joined in for a total of 196 electoral votes, just 74 more. Third, defenders of the Electoral College also claim that it supports the underlying value of federalism. A number of states have signed onto a pact that guarantees their Electoral College votes to the winner of the popular vote, no matter the outcome in their individual states. For one thing, slavery. A New Mexico doctor describes the pain and horror of caring for COVID-19 patients. Presidential electors are not more qualified than other citizens to determine who should head the government. In the interactive diagram The Battleground States Biden and Trump Need to Win 270, you are able to build your own coalition of states to see how either candidate, President Trump or former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr., can win the election. A presidential candidate who doesnt receive a majority of the votes can still win the Electoral College to get into the White House. The truth is . The basis for the Electoral College is found inArticle II, Section 1of the Constitution, which spells out how the president shall be chosen. Why did they lose? It's time to abolish the Electoral College - Brookings The three-fifths clause became irrelevant with the end of slavery (thankfully! The two parties have chosen the same year in which to nominate a person whom large numbers of Americans, probably a majority, regard as unfit (though not for the same reason). The only states that matter to either party are the battleground states especially bigger ones like Florida and Pennsylvania, where a swing of a few thousand or even a few hundred votes can shift the entire pot of electors from one candidate to the other. It took time for people to learn what was happening in the nations capital. {{currentYear}} American Bar Association, all rights reserved. In 2016, Donald Trump won the White House by earning a majority of electoral votes, even though almost three million more Americans voted for Hillary Clinton. Electors manage the needs of the state and community instead of following the will of the general public throughout the country. Alternative 2: Two electoral votes to national popular vote winner; remainder apportioned by congressional district, *Each of these races included faithless electors, such that the total of electoral votes, as shown, does not equal 538. The places where there are more people become the top priority, especially if there is a chance to swing some votes. The Electoral College consists of an elector selection, a group of people who will meet and vote for President and Vice President based on the results of their states election. Here's What Critics Say Is Wrong With The Electoral College : NPR The current system is weighted too heavily in favor of celebrity appeal, demagogic displays and appeals to narrow special interests. When enough states join in this interstate compact, itll mean that the popular-vote winner will always become president. Who verifies if a candidate is qualified to run for President? hide caption. As far as the 2016 election is concerned, Hillary Clinton would still be the likely winner if the Electoral College didn't exist. The pros and cons of abolishing the Electoral College must go beyond the 65% of people who want it gone. Learn more here. 6. Electoral vote totals will equal 538. Some of the most important framers, including James Madison and James Wilson, wanted to write a direct popular vote into the Constitution. This perception is reinforced by the red- and blue-state imagery that controls our view of the electoral process. NPV would reshape our political landscape by concentrating power in our largest states and cities. Two hundred years after James Madisons letter, the state winner-take-all rule is still crippling our politics and artificially dividing us. With the divide between Democrats and Republicans currently in place, the likelihood that this idea will receive any movement any time soon is quite minimal. That might invite legal challenges from candidates or voters' groups if it took place. And because they created it, its a sacred work of constitutional genius. 3Qs: Should the Electoral College be abolished? - News Tell us about it. Learn more about how to use our free daily writing prompts for remote learning. Do you support this movement? Almost no one would adopt an Electoral College today if we were starting from scratch. Having the states play an autonomous role in presidential elections, it is said, reinforces the division of governing authority between the nation and the states. So lets put the power to select the president where it actually belongs, in the hands of all the people. Not this year. The Electoral College thus presents democratic risks without serving any of its original purposes. It seems to me that the original system may have been superior to what we now have. But as people moved and the economy changed so did that ratio. Today about 1.3% of those employed in the United States work directly in agriculture, and they manage to feed the entire country and beyond. That system worked well until the two-party system briefly died with the Federalist Party. George W. Bush won the Electoral College in 2000 even though he received 0.5% less of the popular vote against Al Gore. Electoral vote totals will equal 538. Right now, those circumstances tend to benefit Republicans in the Electoral College, while disadvantaging Democrats who have won the popular vote in seven of the last eight elections. But reforming the Electoral College does not rank high among our national problems. Were already letting women, former slaves, and 18-year-olds vote, changing the structure of the election since the countrys founding. But it's possible the candidate with the most votes from the public won't be the winner. Support for direct popular election. Did you know that when Americans vote in the 2020 presidential election, theyre not actually voting for the next president? Why? The presidential election is held every four years on the Tuesday after the first Monday in November. The current system for electing a U.S. president traces back to 1787. RT @Valkary: THE ELECTORAL COLLEGE SHOULD BE ABSOLVED AND ABOLISHED. Two closely watched cases arising from the 2016 electoral process, however, might provide the justices with an opportunity to do just that. What would happen if the Electoral College was abolished To understand why, lets start from the point we make above: the Electoral College system currently benefits Republicans, as two Republican presidents in the last 20 years have been elected despite losing the popular vote and that nearly happened a third time this year. Kitty on Twitter: "RT @Valkary: THE ELECTORAL COLLEGE They are simply party loyalists who do not deliberate about anything more than where to eat lunch. Map. To this day, people are still arguing that Al Gore was the real winner and debating whether the recount in Florida was accurate the state whose electors propelled Bush to the top. But the fact is that we are now one country, whereas in 1789 we were 13 colonies desperately trying to hold onto some semblance of their independencehence a political deal was struck that now threatens the very democracy for which they were trying to create a lasting framework. "Precisely what it does is proportionately advantages where the people are," Levy said. But explaining exactly how it does this remains a mystery.
what would happen if the electoral college was abolished
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