How did the electoral system favor the small states?
The state-winner-take-all Electoral College doesn't protect small states. The Electoral College gives a numerical advantage to small states. Because each state gets two Electoral Votes for its two senators, no matter how many people live in the state, smaller states have more Electoral College representation per voter.
Why should the US get rid of the Electoral College?
Many say that the Electoral College doesn’t give us an outcome that represents the will of the majority of voters. One reason is that voters in low-population states have a mathematical advantage....
What are some problems with the Electoral College?
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What is bad about the Electoral College?
“What happened was, there are a few bad actors who assaulted law enforcement ... States to accept the results of the election as put forth by who won the electoral college.” She added that it was “so sad” that even after all of the horror of ...
Which states have the smallest House of Representatives?
For example, the 12 smallest states today—Alaska, Delaware, Hawaii, Idaho, Maine, Montana, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Vermont, and Wyoming together account for only 17 (of 435) representatives in the House, or 3.9% of the total.
What is the election law for 2020?
One of the many unusual features of the Electoral College established by Article II, Section 1 , of the United States Constitution is the provision that specifies that each state shall have “a Number of Electors equal to the whole Number ...
How many votes did Gore win in 1916?
With the two electoral vote bump removed, Gore would have won 225-211.
How many presidential elections have been affected by the election of 1876?
It turns out that the answer to the last question is yes, although the results of only three of the fifty-six presidential elections have been effected. Not surprisingly, the three affected elections are also the three closest in American history. The first was the Hayes-Tilden Election of 1876.
How many states did Hayes carry?
However, Hayes carried 21 states to Tilden’s 17. Had it not been for the assignment of two additional electoral votes to each state, Tilden would have prevailed, the rulings of the Electoral Commission notwithstanding, 150-143.
What are the advantages of the electoral college?
She said one of the advantages of the Electoral College compared to a national popular vote is that it gives small states like Idaho a voice during presidential election years. “It allows small states with small populations to have a lot of power in the system,” Gardner said. Idaho has four electoral votes and is a “winner-take-all” state, ...
What is the electoral college system?
Electoral College system gives small states a voice in U.S. presidential elections. TWIN FALLS, Idaho (KMVT/KSVT) -The Electoral College was established in Article II, Section 1 of the U.S. Constitution. Each state has the same amount of “electors” in the Electoral College as it has representatives and senators in the United States Congress.
How many faithless electors were there in 2016?
They are electors who voted against the wishes of the voters, but it is pretty rare today. However, there were a total of seven faithless electors in the 2016 Presidential Election.
Why did the Framers go to the electoral college?
The college professor said another reason the framers went to an Electoral College system is because they had a mistrust for democracy, and they were worried voters would not be able to educate themselves about the candidates in a national election.
How many electoral votes does Idaho have?
Idaho has four electoral votes and is a “winner-take-all” state, which means whoever gets the popular vote in the state gets all the electoral votes, but states like Maine and Nebraska are proportional.
Is Idaho a red state?
Idaho is traditionally a Republican “red state,” and Garden er said it might be beneficial for the Gem State to go to a proportional system because it would give a voice to voters who are not Republican. “What we (Idaho) have is a lack of competitiveness, and when elections are competitive voter turnout is higher.
Why is the electoral college important?
The Electoral College is necessary to preserve the voices of all Americans, regardless of where they live, for generations to come. Hans von Spakovsky and several other election law experts will be speaking at RNLA’s National Election Law Seminar on August 2-3 in Charlotte, North Carolina.
What is the electoral college?
Electoral College Protects the Voice of Smaller States. Posted by Robert Sinners 93sc on July 23, 2019. The future of the Electoral College has become an increasingly important topic as the 2020 presidential election approaches.
How many electoral votes does each state have?
Each state, no matter how small its population, has at least three electoral votes, since the number of votes the state has is based on how many senators and representatives that state has in Congress. States with larger populations still have an advantage because they have more representatives in the House. However, under the new compact, the ...
Why do states with larger populations have an advantage?
States with larger populations still have an advantage because they have more representatives in the House. However, under the new compact, the votes of the smaller states would be completely dwarfed by cities and states with larger populations.
Who are the candidates who want to abolish the electoral college?
Democratic candidates Cory Booker, Pete Buttigieg, Kirsten Gillibrand, Bernie Sanders, and Elizabeth Warren have all called for the Electoral College to be abolished. What the candidates fail to tell their supporters is that abolishing the Electoral College is a dangerous prospect that would hurt the voice of smaller states in presidential ...
Which states have rejected the National Popular Vote Compact?
In May, both Maine and Nevada rejected legislation that would have enjoined them into the National Popular Vote Compact (NPVC). The compact requires states to give their electoral votes to the winner of the national popular vote.
What organization compiled all the 2016 election campaign events?
The organization FairVote compiled all the election campaign events in 2016, while the National Popular Vote movement (the one Ross is complaining about above) summarized it in handy form. The 2016 candidates spent almost all their time in a handful of states, most of them medium or large.
Which states have gotten one event in 2016?
By this estimate, the smallest five states — Wyoming, D.C., Vermont, North Dakota, and Alaska — would have gotten one event apiece in 2016. In reality, they got none. Meanwhile, medium-sized states like Oklahoma, Oregon, and Kentucky would have gotten five, five, and six events respectively. In reality, they got none.
How many states have no events?
In total, 25 states (mostly small and medium-sized) got no events whatsoever. And while it's true the states that got huge attention are mostly on the big side, the very largest states were almost totally ignored as well — California and Texas got one event apiece, and New York none. The reason for this is obvious.
Which states have gotten 25, 33, and 48?
New York, Texas, and California would have gotten 25, 33, and 48. In reality, as we have seen, only the latter two got even one event. It is simply beyond question that the Electoral College does not lead presidential candidates to cater to the interests of small states, or big states. On the contrary, only states that randomly happen ...
Do votes count equally in a democracy?
In a democracy, votes should count equally. It's not hard to discern what is going on here. Conservatives currently perceive that the Electoral College provides them with a partisan advantage, and so they are reverse-engineering arguments to support it.
Does the electoral college give disproportionate mathematical weight to small states?
The Electoral College does give disproportionate mathematical weight to small states. But its goofy structure means almost all of them are ignored in presidential politics. If the president was elected by simple majority vote , almost all small states would get more attention than they currently do. Skip advert.
What is the advantage of electoral college?
The advantage of the electoral college is that it promotes fairness from a regional perspective. Individual votes count, but in a way that is represented by states. 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.
Why does the electoral college require national support?
Because of the structure of the Electoral College, a President must receive national support to win an election. This promotes a healthy cohesiveness within the country because there must be a distribution of that support so that a majority of electoral votes can be received.
How many electoral votes are needed to be a president?
A majority of 270 electoral votes is required for a President to be elected. 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. That means the minimum number of electoral votes is 3, while there is no maximum.
Why is a national level of support required?
Since a national level of support is required because of the Electoral College, minority causes, interests, and concerns are given a voice that reaches a national level. The votes of a small minority in a state can sway the difference in an election, especially since most states award all their electoral votes to the winner of the popular vote.
Why did the US elect two minority presidents?
1. It creates the possibility of a minority president being elected. The US has elected two minority presidents in the last 20 years because of the Electoral College. In 1992, President Bill Clinton was elected with less than 50% of the total popular vote as well.
How much of the Republican vote did Donald Trump get in 2016?
In the Republican primaries leading up to the 2016 Presidential election, Donald Trump was consistently receiving about 35% of the Republican vote. 30% were voting for Marco Rubio and another 30% were voting for Ted Cruz – both men part of the Tea Party movement and the son of an immigrant.
Why was the United States founded?
The United States was founded on the idea that taxation without representation was unfair. It was part of the reason for the rebellion of the colonies in the first place. With the Electoral College, a general consensus can be maintained so the structure of the government and the independent political powers of each state ...
How does the electoral college work?
In a simple democratic election with two candidates, every voter has the same probability of affecting the result of the election. In the United States, the electoral college ensures that this is not the case. Instead, the chance that your vote matters is dependent on which state you live in, and the political composition ...
What are the arguments for the electoral college?
Arguments about the merits of the electoral college often turn to how it affects certain categories of voters. Proponents of the electoral college sometimes argue that voters in cities should have less power than voters in rural areas. Opponents of the system argue that it privileges white voters over minorities.
What percentage of Hispanics are disadvantaged by electoral college?
Those disadvantaged by the electoral college are Hispanics (21.8%) and those who fall into other racial categories (19.0%). The disadvantage to Hispanic voters is likely due to the high percentage of Hispanics in non-swing states of Texas and California. This could change if Texas were to become a swing state, as some predict .
Do Republicans benefit from the electoral college?
Although Republican presidential candidates have benefited from the electoral college in recent years—2 of their last 3 election winners lost the popular vote—there is nothing about the electoral college that specifically favors Republicans. Its effects are largely random, and can be expected to change over time.
