"If anything, representative democracy in the 21st century is about political equality. We reserve the right to close comments at any time. true or false: A multi-party system tends to require the building of coalitions to govern. true or false: Executive privilege allows the president to speak freely with advisers about strategy without fear that Congress will question what was said in private to arrive at that strategy. It also happened in 2000, whenDemocrat Al Gore defeated Republican George W. Bush in the popular vote by more than 500,000 votes, but Bush secured enough electoral college votes to win the presidency (more on Gore's Florida challenge later). Most people feel that the person who gets the most votes should become president. In 2000, George W. Bush captured more electoral votes while earning 500,000 fewer popular votes than Al Gore. Should the Voting Age Be Lowered to 16? Proponents say teens are knowledgeable enough to vote. It is an unfair method to use to select a president. The following table gives the value of the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA), NASDAQ, and the S&P 500 on the first day of trading for the years 2008 through 2010. "The fact that in presidential elections people in Wyoming have [nearly four] times the power of people in California is antithetical at the most basic level to what we say we stand for as a democracy," he said. Generally, states award all their electoral college votes to whoever won the poll of ordinary voters in the state. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. It is possible for candidates to be the most popular candidate among voters nationally, but still fail to win enough states to gain 270 electoral votes. So-called faithless electors have not been critical to the outcome of a U.S. presidential election, but that could change in a race decided by just a few electoral votes. Should the Electoral College be abolished? The electoral college was also favoured by southern states, where slaves made up a large portion of the population. Each state gets as many electors as it has lawmakers in the US Congress (representatives in the House and senators). The number of electors from each state is roughly in line with the size of its population. After reading the pros and cons on this topic, has your thinking changed? Explore the Electoral College via the US National Archives. If your thoughts have not changed, list two to three ways your better understanding of the other side of the issue now helps you better argue your position. On the other hand, Republicans don't have to convince the public. [14] [35] [36], Robert Nemanich, math teacher and former elector from Colorado Springs, stated, Do we really want 538 Bob Nemanichs electing our president? The proposal requires enough states to join in order to secure the 270 electors needed to win the presidency. It needs to be updated for modern times, c.) It should be replaced with popular elections. "This proposal will preserve the electoral college, but it will make the electoral college simply a way of awarding the plurality vote winner," he said. [3] [4] [5] [6], At least 700 amendments have been proposed to modify or abolish the Electoral College. 1. Not a physical college, the electoral college isa process for electing the U.S. president. Question 5 30 seconds Q. How are the First Amendment rights different from those in the British ruling system under which the colonists lived? Each state also has laws regarding recounts, including automatic recounts depending on margin of victory or requiring a petition from a candidate. With files from CBC News, The Associated Press and Reuters. Eight days later, in their concurring opinion inBush, et al. Electors vote based on the results of the popular vote the number of votes cast for each candidate by citizens in their respective states or districts, with the winner of the popular vote getting all of the electoral votes for the state in most cases. National polls indicate a large percentage of Americans now have serious doubts about not just the outcome of the current presidential contest, but also the future reliability of our election system itself. Consider how you felt about the issue before reading this article. The results are announced that day, with Inauguration Day following on Jan. 20. List two to three ways. A) A winner-take-all state allows for proportional representation of the popular vote in that state. (B) Each state is represented in the electoral college by a delegation equal in number to the state's total representation in Congress (senators and members of the House). Please note that CBC does not endorse the opinions expressed in comments. Yes. Harvard's Mukunda said. [18], A Nov. 6, 2016 episode of PBS NewsHour revealed that Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton have made more than 90% of their campaign stops in just 11 so-called battleground states. Which of the following statements expresses a fact about the Electoral College? Yes. Has a candidate lost the public vote but become president? That means no matter the result of the popular vote, the candidate who earns 270 or more electoral college votes wins. "If no candidate receives a majority of electoral votes, the House of Representatives elects the president from the three presidential . In discussing what it terms "the Imperial Presidency," the text identifies all of the following as sources of presidential power except. In 2016, Donald Trump won the electoral vote despite receiving nearly three million fewer votes than his opponent, Hillary Clinton. States cannot violate due process laws because. Because of the Electoral College, presidential candidates only need to pay attention to a limited number of states that can swing one way or the other. That is why, as Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg explained in her dissent (on other issues), although the Electoral Count Act identifies significant dates in the process of ascertaining and counting presidential electors, none of these dates has ultimate significance in light of Congress' detailed provisions for determining, on the sixth day of January, the validity of electoral votes. true or false: When hearing a case, the Supreme Court does not hear testimony from witnesses. And even when that doesn't happen, Wegman sees another problem with the Electoral College system. That vulnerability was on full display on Jan. 6, when Trump and the violent insurrectionists pressed Congress to overturn Biden's Electoral College win. Repeat previous exercise for the NASDAQ and the S&P 500. true or false: The Founders showed the importance of the legislative branch by making nearly half of the Constitution about it. During primaries, candidates often focus on. But the process also is linked to slavery, he said. at 144. To encourage thoughtful and respectful conversations, first and last names will appear with each submission to CBC/Radio-Canada's online communities (except in children and youth-oriented communities). [1], 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 over Grover Cleveland), and 2000 (George W. Bush over Al Gore). Read about our approach to external linking. You can contact him at benjamin.blum@cbc.ca. [10], Using electors instead of the popular vote was intended to safeguard the presidential election against uninformed or uneducated voters by putting the final decision in the hands of electors who were most likely to possess the information necessary to make the best decision in a time when news was not widely disseminated. due process is guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution. true or false: The Fourteenth Amendment granted citizenship to all persons born in the United States, guaranteed due process of law, and guaranteed equal protection of the law. HISTORY reviews and updates its content regularly to ensure it is complete and accurate. Where the polls stand on election day, Will Biden or Trump be the U.S. president? [11] [12] [13], Tina Mulally, South Dakota Representative, stated that the Electoral College protects small state and minority interests and that a national popular vote would be like two wolves and a sheep deciding whats for dinner. Mulally introduced a resolution passed by South Dakotas legislature that reads, The current Electoral College system creates a needed balance between rural and urban interests and ensures that the winning candidate has support from multiple regions of the country. [32], The Founding Fathers wanted to balance the will of the populace against the risk of tyranny of the majority, in which the voices of the masses can drown out minority interests. The Supreme Court's ruling ultimately allowed Republican candidate George W. Bush to secure the state's electoral votes and become president. Comments are welcome while open. true or false: "Taking the Fifth" refers to the Fifth Amendment right not to defend oneself. "Vote suppression is one way of doing that subtracting voters from the electorate who you think won't vote for your preferred candidates," she said. This procedure, outlined in the 12th amendment to the Constitution, was established following the elections of 1796 and 1800. On Dec. 22, 2016, the results were certified in all 50 states. The length of a president's term in office. In fact, two out of the last five elections were won by candidates who had fewer votes from the general public than their rivals. Another way the Electoral College is unfair, says Harvard University political scientist Gautam Mukunda, is that each state gets electors based on its representation in the House and Senate, which means small states get extra votes. Every state they win gets them closer to the 270 electoral college votes they need. If you would not change the voting process, make a list of reforms and why you would not choose to enact them. E. Each state's delegation to the electoral college consists of that state's U.S. senators and representatives. Email us at:Ask@cbc.ca. "Those states include some of the states with the heaviest minority populations in the United States, some of the states with the fewest minority populations in the United States," he said. Still, we are faced with a seminal legal question. To win the election, presidential candidates need electoral votes from multiple regions and therefore they build campaign platforms with a national focus, meaning that the winner will actually be serving the needs of the entire country. Its about one person, one vote everybodys vote counting equally. A. This is our solemn duty, and our position on this threshold legal question has been widely known and published for weeks. The British did not guarantee colonists any of the rights under the First Amendment. The ______ branch of the federal government has certain enumerated powers listed in the Constitution. d. It works without controversy in most elections. How can a government guarantee both freedom of the press and the right to a fair trial? WASHINGTON, D.C. - 37 Republican members of Congress today issued the following statement in advance of the joint session of Congress at 1 p.m. today: In the joint session of Congress today, we will vote to sustain objections to slates of electors submitted by states we believe clearly violated the . When an objection is duly presented, Members of Congress may draw their own individual conclusions as they determine the validity of the electoral votes at issuebut, in light of the plain language of the Constitution, the Electoral Count Act, and theper curiamopinions of the Supreme Court, it simply cannot be said that we are not charged with the full responsibility of making such a determination. The problem is that twice since 2000, the person with the most votes didn't win. The official general election results indicate that Trump received 304 Electoral College votes and 46.09% of the popular vote (62,984,825 votes), and Hillary Clinton received 227 Electoral College votes and 48.18% of the popular vote (65,853,516 votes). Mukunda stated, The fact that in presidential elections people in Wyoming have [nearly four] times the power of people in California is antithetical at the most basic level to what we say we stand for as a democracy. [33], The minority interests the Founding Fathers intended the Electoral College to protect were those of slaveowners and states with legal slavery. Would not choose to enact them News, the House and senators ) it needs be! In order to secure the state 's electoral votes, the person with the most votes should president! George W. Bush to secure the state the state 's electoral votes and become president allowed Republican candidate W.! For electing the U.S. president on margin of victory or requiring a petition from a.. 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