What a cogent and thought-provoking argument you present, David. Brilliant and time-consuming analysis that I hope is appreciated as much by your readers as it is by me!
Very good article. We need to do something drastic to get the will of the people because we definitely are experiencing taxation without representation. We also need to stop the wealthy lobbyist too.
Another method is available. It is simple, much more representative, and does not need any more changes than the National X X X method. It may not be exactly perfect meaning a candidate may still win the Presidency without actually winning the national majority, but it would be rarer than now.
Each state would cast their EC votes in the ratio of actual votes in that state. If the Dems get 60% of the popular vote in a state with 21 EC votes, the Dem candidate would have 13 (12.6 rounded) and the Republican would get 8 (8.4 rounded).
Good try. Making a complex problem more complex will not make anyone happier. The Repubs will never be happy. They won the last election and that is still not good enough. They still complain about the voting machines, the validity of the voter roles, the counting of the ballots, voter ID. If Repubs won every election, they still would not be happy. Their ultimate objective is to do away with elections.
The current system has withstood almost every legal challenge, which is a testament that democracy still works (sortof).
Yes, it is a bit more complex but a lot more representative. I believe that there already are a couple of states that assign their Electoral College votes this way. The real beauty is that it can be implemented quickly and without the Constitution being amended.
That makes sense! I live in Georgia, and I hate the fact that my state gets more attention than other states that have people that need to matter as well! And I don't understand why this seems to help the Republicans get into office without obtaining the popular vote!
Outstanding article, David. If it weren't for the incredibly unfair Electoral College, the current nightmare of the Trump regime would never have happened. The Electoral College must be abolished ASAP!
Comprehensive, as always. I would never expect less from you. I have been against the electoral college for decades. One small voice. A bucket list item. I won't see it disappear in my lifetime even if I hit 100. I'm 87 now. :(
Should you not also have mentioned allocating electoral votes in proportion to the plurality in each congressional district as do Maine and Nebraska. It seems to me this might be the most feasible reform.
To be frank more and more people have stopped voting or if young will not vote at all because they know their vote is not likely to mean anything because of the electoral college. When I asked my granddaughter who is 23 why she did not vote she told me that it was pointless because of the electoral college. More and more people are seeing that their votes are useless because of Presidents that lost the popular vote and yet they took office while the popular vote winners did not. People are not regions, towns, cities or states. Thus the popular vote is the only way to represent the will of the individual.
I have been screaming about this for years but I do not have the background to present it as you did. I live in Maine and we rarely ever have a national candidate come here. Why? Because we don't matter. The only states that matter are the 5 or 6 swing states. It is a crime that the person with the most votes doesn't win. Its need to be changed.
It's exactly the electoral college votes (primarily Pennsylvania) I'm so sure Musk interfered with to ensure Trump would "win". He wanted to insure his huge "campaign donation" illegal for him as a government contractor and be in a position (DOGE) to enhance his contracts and personal finances.
One person, one vote is the only fair. way to find the right winner of any election. There is no other way to be sure we are being democratic in our country. Democracy is our government, no other!!!
I've been anti-electoral college since I first learned of it. A l-o-n-g time ago, senior year of hs to be exact. 1966/67. A poly sci instructor I had back in the early 70s said the US wasn't a democracy but more of a representative republic. He also predicted the demise of the middle class....
First, thank you for presenting the most thorough analysis against the electoral college that I have ever seen. However, there was a large push to end the electoral college in the early 1970s which seemed to go nowhere. What can be done differently to make it happen this time? It seems to me that those who have benefited from the electoral college bias don't want to honor true democracy and give up the edge which has been putting their candidates in office despite the popular vote. I think that is what stalled the abolition of the electoral college during the push in the '70s.
What a cogent and thought-provoking argument you present, David. Brilliant and time-consuming analysis that I hope is appreciated as much by your readers as it is by me!
Very good article. We need to do something drastic to get the will of the people because we definitely are experiencing taxation without representation. We also need to stop the wealthy lobbyist too.
Another method is available. It is simple, much more representative, and does not need any more changes than the National X X X method. It may not be exactly perfect meaning a candidate may still win the Presidency without actually winning the national majority, but it would be rarer than now.
Each state would cast their EC votes in the ratio of actual votes in that state. If the Dems get 60% of the popular vote in a state with 21 EC votes, the Dem candidate would have 13 (12.6 rounded) and the Republican would get 8 (8.4 rounded).
Good try. Making a complex problem more complex will not make anyone happier. The Repubs will never be happy. They won the last election and that is still not good enough. They still complain about the voting machines, the validity of the voter roles, the counting of the ballots, voter ID. If Repubs won every election, they still would not be happy. Their ultimate objective is to do away with elections.
The current system has withstood almost every legal challenge, which is a testament that democracy still works (sortof).
Yes, it is a bit more complex but a lot more representative. I believe that there already are a couple of states that assign their Electoral College votes this way. The real beauty is that it can be implemented quickly and without the Constitution being amended.
That makes sense! I live in Georgia, and I hate the fact that my state gets more attention than other states that have people that need to matter as well! And I don't understand why this seems to help the Republicans get into office without obtaining the popular vote!
Outstanding article, David. If it weren't for the incredibly unfair Electoral College, the current nightmare of the Trump regime would never have happened. The Electoral College must be abolished ASAP!
Comprehensive, as always. I would never expect less from you. I have been against the electoral college for decades. One small voice. A bucket list item. I won't see it disappear in my lifetime even if I hit 100. I'm 87 now. :(
Should you not also have mentioned allocating electoral votes in proportion to the plurality in each congressional district as do Maine and Nebraska. It seems to me this might be the most feasible reform.
To be frank more and more people have stopped voting or if young will not vote at all because they know their vote is not likely to mean anything because of the electoral college. When I asked my granddaughter who is 23 why she did not vote she told me that it was pointless because of the electoral college. More and more people are seeing that their votes are useless because of Presidents that lost the popular vote and yet they took office while the popular vote winners did not. People are not regions, towns, cities or states. Thus the popular vote is the only way to represent the will of the individual.
I have been screaming about this for years but I do not have the background to present it as you did. I live in Maine and we rarely ever have a national candidate come here. Why? Because we don't matter. The only states that matter are the 5 or 6 swing states. It is a crime that the person with the most votes doesn't win. Its need to be changed.
It's exactly the electoral college votes (primarily Pennsylvania) I'm so sure Musk interfered with to ensure Trump would "win". He wanted to insure his huge "campaign donation" illegal for him as a government contractor and be in a position (DOGE) to enhance his contracts and personal finances.
Thank you for addressing this issue, which has always bothered me. One person, one vote!
One person, one vote is the only fair. way to find the right winner of any election. There is no other way to be sure we are being democratic in our country. Democracy is our government, no other!!!
Thank you for this clear and comprehensive explanation of why a majority vote of the electorate is superior to the electoral college approach.
I've been anti-electoral college since I first learned of it. A l-o-n-g time ago, senior year of hs to be exact. 1966/67. A poly sci instructor I had back in the early 70s said the US wasn't a democracy but more of a representative republic. He also predicted the demise of the middle class....
At last, I now understand and appreciate how the American voting system works.
As a Brit I’ve always been mystified as to how somebody gets elected with seemingly fewer votes. Your explanation is a most welcome clarification.
So, now the burning question is, what can be done (if anything) about it? Scrap the Electoral College altogether?
God works in mysterious ways but maybe he, too, now recognises that something needs to be done.
First, thank you for presenting the most thorough analysis against the electoral college that I have ever seen. However, there was a large push to end the electoral college in the early 1970s which seemed to go nowhere. What can be done differently to make it happen this time? It seems to me that those who have benefited from the electoral college bias don't want to honor true democracy and give up the edge which has been putting their candidates in office despite the popular vote. I think that is what stalled the abolition of the electoral college during the push in the '70s.
Great article. Keep them coming.