Should the POTUS be Elected by Popular Vote?

Originally Written: October 03, 2020

Grammar and Spelling Revised: April 27, 2022

The United states Presidential Election is a little over a month out, or is it. The first Tuesday after the first Monday in November is the day of the popular for President is cast, but the winner of the popular vote does not become President. As happened in 2016 and 2000 the winner of the Electoral Collage did not win the popular vote.

This should not be the case, the President should be the winner of the popular vote. The is an interstate compact/agreement once this group of states has 270 electoral votes under their control, they would pledge their electoral votes to whoever won the national popular vote their than their state popular vote.

However, some would prefer if the Constitution were to be amended to abolish the electoral college and have the President solely chosen by the popular vote. I however doubt enough Congressional support and state support will be achieved to reach the required super-majorities.

But if an amendment could be agreed upon, I see some possibilities. One possibility is that the Candidate with the most votes in the popular vote wins, a plurality of the vote. Another possibility is that the Candidate with the majority of the popular vote wins; however this possibility would result in elections where no candidate gets a majority. As such, there would have to be either a run-off election. But their are alternatives such as instant run-off voting, ranked choice voting, or approval voting; all of which would not require a second election day.

However, some may argue against such proposals. One idea they might support would be using the electoral college if no majority is reached in the popular vote. Another would be have Congress decide if no majority is reached, much like what happens when their is a tie in the electoral college or if no candidate gets a majority in the electoral college.

Obviously I have my thoughts, I myself favor either ranked choice voting or approval voting. I feel that either of those systems would allow the vote to be more representative of the people and be more democratic. Plus it would give third parties and independents a chance. Some may oppose third parties/independents having a chance since they don't want the spoiler effect to damage either of the major parties. However I dispute this and think that a greater variety of political thought and political parties will benefit American politics by making it less partisan and political identities less controlling. However, this is only intended to start of a discussion.