National Popular Vote
The Electoral College Should be Replaced by National Popular Vote
The best alternative to the Electoral College is national popular vote. The person who receives the most votes or a majority of the votes becomes president. This is the most simple of the plans and the most logical. The president should be democratically elected. It makes no sense for someone who received the most amount of votes to not become the president.
The Electoral College values some people’s votes more than others. In reliably blue states like New York or California there is very little incentive for people to come out because their vote won’t make a difference. The same is true in reliable red states like Texas or Utah. Votes only matter when they come from swing states.
Under popular vote every person’s vote would be equal—regardless of what state they live in. Popular vote would led to the candidates appealing to the whole country and not just a few (electorally important) states. National popular vote would make the president a truly democratically elected position.
The Electoral College values some people’s votes more than others. In reliably blue states like New York or California there is very little incentive for people to come out because their vote won’t make a difference. The same is true in reliable red states like Texas or Utah. Votes only matter when they come from swing states.
Under popular vote every person’s vote would be equal—regardless of what state they live in. Popular vote would led to the candidates appealing to the whole country and not just a few (electorally important) states. National popular vote would make the president a truly democratically elected position.
The Electoral College Should Not be Replaced by National Popular Vote
Abandoning the current Electoral College system in favor of national popular vote would be wrong. There are a number of reasons why national popular vote is the wrong choice for America. First it would be incredibly difficult to implement. Implementing national popular vote would require amending the constitution--not an easy task. It requires agreement of at least two thirds of both houses of Congress.
The Electoral College helps us to avoid runoff elections. It also provides a certainty of outcome and keeps the interests of the president balanced. It prevents a “tyranny of the majority”. The framers did not intend for the president to be democratically elected. The United States is a republic not a democracy. The founding fathers were weary of giving too much power to the people which could result in instability.
The Electoral College helps us to avoid runoff elections. It also provides a certainty of outcome and keeps the interests of the president balanced. It prevents a “tyranny of the majority”. The framers did not intend for the president to be democratically elected. The United States is a republic not a democracy. The founding fathers were weary of giving too much power to the people which could result in instability.