A split of electoral votes has occurred once in each of these states. First, any proposal would require a two-thirds majority in both the House of Representatives and the Senate. Subscribe to Here’s the Deal, our politics newsletter for analysis you won’t find anywhere else. In part, that is because the Electoral College is constitutionally mandated, and abolishing it would require a constitutional amendment. President Trump, who used to be in favor of a national vote system, has now switched teams and is in favor of the Electoral College. As the 2020 presidential campaigns get underway, the debate over the Electoral College system is starting again. Maine and Nebraska, however, have enacted the congressional district method, which allocates one electoral vote to the winner of the popular vote in each state-drawn district. Two closely watched cases arising from the 2016 electoral process, however, might provide the justices with an opportunity to do just that. To abolish the Electoral College, however, would require a Constitutional amendment. Dec 14 America Votes Americans can start voting at the age of 18. Dec 14 So these things really do ebb and flow and you could see a world where in 10 or 15 years it's Democrats who are in favor of the Electoral College. In part, that is because the Electoral College is constitutionally mandated, and abolishing it would require a constitutional amendment. If even just one state, say California, suddenly turned red in 20 or 30 years, you can't really see that happening but if it were to happen, it would change the way this debate looked for both political parties. The basis for the Electoral College is found in Article II, Section 1 of the Constitution, which spells out how the president shall be chosen. If the Electoral College can't be abolished, can it be reformed? Is it even possible? But the court has not tackled to what extent states can enforce such a pledge. The sort of the stopgaps have worked in very different ways? It said that the Colorado secretary of state erred in removing an elector who cast his vote for then-Ohio Gov. That kind of system or that kind of support I should say just isn't there for very many issues. Some one who opposes the electoral college can construct it as unfair because they feel as they arenât really voting for their president and vice president. But the more cynical political scientists see this as a way for President Trump to have a road to victory in 2020 seeing he lost the popular vote in 2016. “It is within a state’s authority under Article II, Section 1 to impose a fine on electors for failing to uphold their pledge,” the court said in an 8-1 opinion. How many do they have? WATCH: Biden speaks after Electoral College vote, Watch Thanks so much joining us. So it's pointless to argue about whether the electoral college should be abolished. The Electoral College is made up of 538 electors. Thatâs unfair. The NPVIC is a proposed agreement among the states and the District of Columbia to render the Electoral College obsolete by ensuring that the winner of the popular ⦠They don't bother campaigning there. California-55 and Texas-38 2. After Hillary Clinton won the popular vote but lost the electoral college vote to Donald Trump, there were new calls to abolish the constitutionally mandated system. The other way would be at the state by state level, which is something a few states have signed onto this pact to basically say we're going to give our electoral college votes to whoever wins the national popular vote, no matter if that person won the actual election in our state. If that occurs, the court might provide states additional guidance on just how much leeway they have to impact the Electoral College vote that decides the presidency of the United States. How the Electoral College Was Nearly Abolished in 1970. Central clearinghouse of ABA-related information and resources for attorneys, the legal profession and the public on a wealth of issues addressing bias, racism and prejudice in the justice system and society. Document A: Electoral Votes By State (map) 1. This spring, numerous candidates for president expressed support for either abolishing or changing the Electoral College, which ultimately picks the U.S. president. © 1996 - 2020 NewsHour Productions LLC. Should The Electoral College Be Abolished 1. The Electoral College is made up of 538 electors who cast votes to decide the President and Vice-President of the United States. But after the presidential election in 1800 resulted in an acrimonious tie vote between Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr, the 12th Amendment was ratified in 1804. I mean, this wasn't designed to turn out this way but our democracy and our population and our political parties affiliations, they've ebbed and flowed, they've changed over time. When voters go to the polls on Tuesday, they will be choosing which candidate receives their state's electors. Sixty years later in Ray v. Blair, the court ruled the Constitution, including the 12th Amendment, does not “bar a political party from requiring” electors to sign a pledge to support the nominees of the national convention. NPR reporter Miles Parks joins Hari Sreenivasan to discuss whether the constitutionally mandated system can be changed. Twice in the past five presidential elections, a Republican has won the presidency despite losing the popular vote. The Electoral College at its outset was founded to maintain white supremacy, giving southern slave-owning states outsize control in electing the ⦠Enough states have signed on to equal about 180 electoral college votes at this point. Learn more about Friends of the NewsHour. Abolishing The Electoral College Would Be More Complicated Than It Seems Polls suggest that's what the majority of the public wants. With more than a dozen Democrats now in the race for the 2020 presidential nomination, talk is again turning to the final deciders — the members of the Electoral College. Dec 14 Some laws simply state that electors must vote for the candidate of the party they represent; others require electors to sign an oath or a pledge. In other words, the Electoral College isnât sacred, and thereâs no reason we canât change how it works today. Should the Electoral College be Abolished? He says that's because it would, the electoral college keeps the Midwest, keeps rural America in the top of kind of the political game plan. In the ensuing 215 years, the Electoral College system itself has changed little, although the popular vote has been rightfully guaranteed to millions more previously denied on the basis of race, gender and age. It provides for separate votes for president and vice president and specified that those individuals must be from different states. This gets into a even bigger problem when you look at the demographics of these areas. The electoral college almost always mirrors the popular vote, but when the totals are close, the outcome can be different. In winner-take-all states, all electoral votes cast for the state are assigned to the candidate who gets the most electoral votes. Oliver Staley 11/4/2020. In 2019 it sure looks that way. Can West Virginia’s pipeline jobs keep youth in the state? The presidential election is every four years on ⦠In conclusion the Electoral College discriminates, violates democratic principles, and is ultimately unfair. In 1892, the court upheld in McPherson v. Blacker that Congress can set the date nationally for the Electoral College to meet, but it also said that the states could determine how electors were apportioned and chosen. In August, a panel of the U.S. 10th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled differently in a case raising similar issues. But specifics vary. Elizabeth Warren isnât the first politician in recent years to call for an end to the Electoral College. The Three-Fifths compromise, a function of the electoral college, sought to devalue Black presence in America. You pass a Constitutional amendment eliminating the electoral system we currently have. The first would be changing the constitution, which as we know, it is very very difficult to do. Candidates have to go to places like Raleigh, North Carolina, Grand Rapids, Michigan. By: Dalton Jacobs and Michael Heda 2. It is unlikely that the Electoral College will ever be abolished because the smaller states (which are many in number) would vote against its abolition. The House approved a constitutional amendment to dismantle the indirect voting system, but it ⦠Biden speaks after Electoral College certification results, Read But the Constitution and the courts have allowed the states some leeway to make changes to how their Electoral College representatives are chosen. By Jack Rakove, the William Robertson Coe Professor of History and American Studies and a professor of political science. An Electoral College hobbyist since the 1960s, he watched in frustration in 2004 as the presidential election between President George W. Bush and ⦠Editorâs Note: In 2016, we asked two professors to debate whether the Electoral College should cease to be the mechanism used for selecting the U.S. president.Here are the yea and the nay. Subscribe to ‘Here's the Deal,’ our politics newsletter. It values the votes of people who live in sparsely populated rural areas over the people who live in cities and urban areas. As the 2020 presidential campaigns get underway, the debate over the Electoral College system is starting again. John Kasich, a Republican, even though Colorado law required electors to cast their votes for state-winner Hillary Clinton, a Democrat. And finally, Myth 3: The Electoral College protects small states. That’s when the Founding Fathers crafted a compromise between those who argued for the election of the president by a vote of Congress and the election of the president by a popular vote of qualified citizens. Electoral College formally casts votes: live updates, Biden speaks after Electoral College certification results, WATCH: Biden speaks after Electoral College vote, Tamara Keith and Amy Walter on Biden’s leadership after Trump, Despite Trump’s efforts, Electoral College certifies Biden’s victory, Michigan congressman leaves GOP over bid to overturn election, California subpoenas Amazon over worker safety during COVID-19 pandemic, Sign-up rush expected as ACA enrollment deadline approaches, Trump eases rules for religious social service providers, Biden clears Electoral College 270-vote threshold to become president, Barr to step down before Christmas, Trump tweets, U.S. COVID-19 deaths top 300,000 as vaccinations begin, WATCH: Sens. The Constitution originally stipulated that the top vote-getter chosen by these electors would become president and the individual with the second-most votes would be vice president. Using bots can streamline some law firm work, /content/aba-cms-dotorg/en/news/abanews/publications/youraba/2019/october-2019/q--the-electoral-college--is-it-open-for-interpretation-by-the-c, Trade, Sports & Professional Associations, Affordable Housing & Community Development Law. What is the fewest number of electoral votes any state has? In 2016, when Hillary Clinton lost the election despite winning the popular vote, there were new calls to abolish the electoral college. A few states provide criminal penalties if an elector violates the requirement. All Rights Reserved. Of course, that might not be as easy as it sounds. Because right now it seems that they really only care about a very small handful of battleground states. You would need two-thirds of the House of Representatives, two-thirds of the Senate, and then three-quarters of states to agree to such a change. What is the current system force candidates to do. Should the Electoral College Be Abolished? Any proposal to get rid of the electoral college is a non-starter, since the smaller states will never, never approve it, and there are more than enough of them to ensure defeat of the amendment. It has the benefit of working within the current Electoral College system, and takes advantage of an often-overlooked detail: The awarding of all electoral college votes to the stateâs winner is a function of state law, not the Constitution (which is why Maine and Nebraska can do it differently). Thank you. The electoral college, after all, is enshrined in our Constitution, which means getting rid of it requires a constitutional amendment. The latest version of this came from Mondayâs NBC Nightly News, which featured anchor Lester Holt and Justice correspondent Pete Williams celebrating the Electoral College affirming President-elect Bidenâs victory. The electoral college shouldnât be abolished because people make uneducated votes and trying to abolish the electoral college has been proven to be nearly impossible. The National Archives reports that over the past 200 years more than 700 proposals have been introduced in Congress to reform or eliminate the Electoral College â without any becoming law. Tamara Keith and Amy Walter on Biden’s leadership after Trump, Watch “The Constitution provides no express role for the states after appointment of its presidential electors,” the 10th Circuit panel said, adding, “Once appointed, (electors) are free to vote as they choose.”. If we abolish the electoral college the states with the highest population would elect a leader for all the other states. All right, Miles Parks from NPR. Despite Trump’s efforts, Electoral College certifies Biden’s victory, By Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar, Associated Press, By Adam Geller, Heather Hollingsworth, Associated Press. One personâs vote should have the same weight as another." We kind of know where California is going to go, we're going to we know are North Dakota's going to go. And that is really one of the biggest arguments for people who are in favor of the electoral college system, is that it keeps kind of middle America and smaller population areas in play. Senator Elizabeth Warren made headlines this week when she said that itâs time to get rid of the electoral college. Debate renewed in 2016 after the election of the fifth U.S. president who won the presidency despite losing the popular vote. Electoral College formally casts votes: live updates, Watch The winner take all systems versus what kind of the framers had put it in mind. Sheâs 100% correct. The current system for electing a U.S. president traces back to 1787. But those things ebb and flow. So the Electoral College favors white voters and people who live in rural areas over the votes of these other populations. If a presidentâs win hinges on a 0.1% national popular vote advantage, that is an entire country to recount, whereas if the win is by 0.1% in Florida, the recount need only be isolated to that particular state. People who are in favor of the national vote system though, say basically yes, this is where the people are candidates should care about the most people, they shouldn't be campaigning in places that are important for some abstract map as opposed to the entire country. Which two states have the most electoral votes? The compact takes effect only after the total electoral college votes of the states who sign on surpasses 270, the minimum needed to win the election. Read Before there can be any criticisms made about the Electoral College, we need to understand how it works. Yes. Does this just come down to a Democrats will support something like a repeal or replace of the electoral college versus Republicans will not want to because this is the system that got them into power and this is the system that's keeping the other team out of power? Really the only hurdle you would have is to convince 38 states to ratify this amendment. At this point non-white voters live in cities disproportionately more often than in rural areas. At this point, we've gotten to a point where the Electoral College system, put very simply, values the votes of some people more than others. Why is this the smallest number any state can have? It gives each state “in such manner as the legislature thereof may direct” electors equal to its representation in Congress. The Electoral College is enshrined in the Constitution, and the Constitution can only be changed through an official amendment. Well there's really two ways that if you were going to get rid of the electoral college system that you would do it. Whereas proponents of keeping the Electoral College system say if you went to a national vote system, candidates would only be in Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, New York. You look at a state like Colorado that is very solidly blue right now. This is a state that voted red very, very consistently 20 years ago. Dec 14 Practical tools and resources to support and advance the practice of law and the judicial system amid potential long-term changes due to COVID-19. The system in place since this country was founded has been branded as unfair, disproportionate, and even racist, reports The Atlantic.Now, a new compact may hasten the electoral collegeâs possible demise. Right. Thus, when President Donald Trump defeated Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton, the debate ignited once more. The Electoral College was created by the United States Constitution. The Electoral College should be abolished to become an equal election. The National Archives reports that over the past 200 years more than 700 proposals have been introduced in Congress to reform or eliminate the Electoral College – without any becoming law. Each state gets however many people they have in the House of Representatives plus two to represent the Senators from each state. California faces stay-at-home orders, Trump heads to Georgia: 5 things to know this weekend. The really interesting thing about this debate is that we talk about it in these very concrete terms that Democrats are in favor at this point in the popular vote and Republicans are in favor of the Electoral College. If the electoral college is abolished, All of the densely populated liberal cities would decide the election. The presidential election is held every four years on the Tuesday after the first Monday in November. Most states have a “winner-take-all” system that awards all the votes of a state’s electors to the presidential candidate who obtains the most votes in that state. Manchin and Collins hold press conference on COVID-19 relief bill. This is simple. The representation of the smaller states matters equally as much to the states with a high population. Dec 14 The electoral college has come under fire since the 2000 U.S. presidential election. Research by the National Association of Secretaries of State shows that 29 states and the District of Columbia require presidential electors, chosen through political party processes in each state, to cast their vote for the candidate they were selected by popular vote in that state to represent. This onerous process requires a two-thirds majority in both chambers of ⦠It’s possible the Supreme Court will ultimately decide who gets to decide how individual electors vote. Technically, the Electoral College can be abolished. But she also believes the Electoral College should be abolished, calling it anti-Democratic (with a big D). https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/can-the-electoral-college-system-be-changed, Rwanda builds new national identity 25 years after genocide. 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. However, the Electoral College is enshrined in the US Constitution, and as such, it would require a Constitutional amendment to change the system. Right. Please check your inbox to confirm. Other reasons people oppose abolishing the electoral college: It makes it more reliable to count votes, especially in a close election. I think it's okay when this happens, because in those cases the majority and the minority are not really all that different in number. The candidate who receives a majority of electoral votes (270) wins the Presidency. In May, the Washington State Supreme Court upheld a state election law that said an elector who did not vote for the candidate he pledged to support could be fined up to $1,000 in civil penalties. In each state, electors meet after the presidential election on the first Monday after the second Wednesday in December and cast their votes for president and vice president in separate ballots. At this point we're not anywhere near that 270 vote number. I recently spoke with NPR reporter Miles Parks who joined us from Washington D.C. to talk about the electoral college and whether it could be changed. If enough states that agreed to such a pact that it got up to that 270 electoral college vote number, then you could theoretically have the result of a national popular vote election but keep the Electoral College system intact. "We already had a couple of elections in which peopleâs votes didnât count, depending on where they lived.
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