Sam Bear on Continue the Electoral College

Sam Bear
Oakton, VA
Opposes!

Why the Electoral College is not good — 9 months ago

I love the Constitution. I love the Founding Fathers. That being said, they lived in a different time. The Electoral College is just as out of date as state legislatures selecting Senators, the disenfranchisement of the vast majority of Americans, and powdered wigs.

The Electoral College was less about giving smaller states more of a say than it was about taking the power to select a president out of the direct control of the American people.

But the main reason I'm against the Electoral College--it's completely undemocratic. Each EC delegate from Wyoming represents 164,594 people (population divided by 3). Each EC delegate from California represents 662,864.5 people (population divided by 55).

THAT IS A HUGE DIFFERENCE. It's not just that George W. Bush won because of the Electoral College. It's because the Electoral College is undemocratic. One person, one vote. It makes a lot more sense.

Jan. 24, 2008 at 12:23 AM | 2 replies

Add Your Own Comment to Sam Bear's Thought:

Bharat
Herndon, VA
Supports!

Why the electoral college IS good — 9 months ago

I don't know. If you get to one person, one vote, you create a system where presidential candidates only campaign in Houston, Dallas, Miami, NYC, Boston, San Francisco, Chicago, LA, etc.
It's the strategy Obama and Edwards shared of campaigning in the Muscatines and Lebanons of the country that worked for them in Iowa.
Abolishing the electoral college would mean that people could ignore the needs of rural america, and rural america is quite possibly the backbone of this country.

Jan. 25, 2008 at 11:16 AM | Reply

Sam Bear
Oakton, VA
Opposes!

But... — 9 months ago

What you're disregarding, and what I just read about for a class tonight, is the fact that the winner-take-all system that exists in every state except for (I believe) two makes the dominant campaign strategy to focus only on the larger states and the states that are competitive. It doesn't encourage anyone to campaign in small states.

What's more, and I understand this scenario is completely insane, it is possible to win the presidency with the support of only 27% of the American population. How? If you win the largest 11 states (all by 1 vote) and don't receive a single vote in any of the remaining 39 states, you would still have a majority of Electoral College delegates. Again, I understand that scenario isn't realistic, but just the fact that in a supposedly democratic system a president could be elected with the support of only 27% of Americans is completely absurd.

Feb. 12, 2008 at 11:07 PM | Reply

Add A Comment