I’ve written about this before, but it’s becoming more and more apparent that the Electoral College has got to go.
I’ve seen people write about ‘not giving fair representation to small states’ and that’s a specious argument. What the Electoral College does is strip away the representation of huge numbers of individuals. After all, even in small states, 100% of the people don’t vote the same way.
I live in Kansas City, Missouri — right on the state line between Missouri and Kansas. I have numerous Democratic Kansan friends who, because of the Electoral College might as well not vote in a presidential election. In 2012, for example, 38% of Kansans voted for President Obama, but 100% of the electoral votes went to Mitt Romney. This means that 38 out of 100 people effectively lost their vote.
A more extreme example is the 2000 election. Al Gore had the majority of people in America wanting him as their next president, yet because of Florida’s 25 electoral votes going to Bush, we ended up with a George Bush presidency and a useless war to boot. And Florida’s entire 25 electoral votes went to Bush because of a difference of 537 votes! ONE percent! Yet, by Electoral College votes, 100% of the voters wanted Bush.
The Electoral College was a great idea in 1787, when counting votes took ages and travel was also a trial. In 2016, when we have results even before all the polls are closed and the information travels at the speed of light, it seems absolutely criminal to strip away the ‘one person — one vote’ our country is supposed to be founded on by using the outdated and arbitrary Electoral College.
Contact your state representatives in Congress and let them know that you would like an amendment to get rid of the unfair and anachronistic Electoral Congress.