In a previous post I noted that moving to a national popular election for the presidency would make every vote in every state important. No longer would states like California (solid blue) or Alabama (solidi red) be ignored by both candidates, since every vote in every state would count toward the national total.
On the other hand, eliminating the electoral college does have some downsides.
Recounts: Now if the election is close (say Gore in 2000), only the states that are close need to be recounted. You may remember that in the 2000 election, only Florida was at issue, and it still took weeks and a Supreme Court decision to settle the election. Try to imagine a close election in the popular vote. Every precinct in every county in every state would have to be recounted. It would take months, and the winner would always be in doubt.
Loss of clout by minority groups: A candidate can win the electoral college vote by winning the popular vote in only 11 states, but those states include California, Texas, New York, Florida, Illinois, Georgia, and Pennsylvania. The eleven are very diverse, but they include important minority groups, including Latinos, Jews, blacks, and Asians. If you look at Jews, you’ll find we make up less than 3% of the population, but we are concentrated in key states. If you look at Latinos, you’ll find we are concentrated in key states like California and Texas. In a nationwide popular election, many minority groups could safely be ignored by the candidates.
The federal system: We are the united states. The electoral college forces us to recognize, once every four years, that we are really a nation of states, not just one big country. Every time we look at one of those maps of who is ahead in what states, we are reminded of that.
I have a hard time deciding whether or not I like the electoral college. I like the idea of every vote in every state counting toward the national total, but I also see major drawbacks in moving to a popular vote system.
Tomorrow: A “reform” that would guarantee a Republican president in every election, and a reform that would keep the electoral college but eliminate the human electors.
We keep saying follow the Constitution. Well that's the fathers wrote it and should never be changed. They really knew what was best and keep it that way.
ReplyDeleteRemember that we already changed it. We now allow blacks and women to vote, and we elect our Senators directly. The Founding Fathers were wise enough to know that we might want to change what they wrote. That's why they put in an amendment clause. Incidentally, the first constitution that permitted amendments was Pennsylvania's under William Penn.
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