A Possible Compromise on the Electoral College

[courseofhistory]

A Possible Compromise on the Electoral College

Rep. Steve Israel (D-NY) has proposed amending the Constitution to give the winner 29 extra electoral votes. The figure 29 seems arbitrary. Israel no doubt picked it because his state has 29 EVs and many of his constituents spend the winter in Florida, which also has 29 EVs. A reader made a much better suggestion. Give the winner of the popular vote one extra EV for each, say, 50,000 votes of margin. So if candidate A beats candidate B by 700,000 votes, he gets 14 extra electoral votes. That would cause candidates to campaign in Los Angeles, Dallas, Spokane, and a lot of other places they currently never visit because their states don't swing. Such a rule would make elections truly national, rather than being confined to at most a dozen states.

http://www.electoral-vote.com/evp2012/Pres/Maps/Oct29.html#item-2

Good idea?

[phantom power]

1. I don't see why this would be any easier to pass than a popular vote amendment

Or any of the other variations, like awarding electoral votes by district instead of the entire state.

[PoliticAverse]

2. Idea going nowhere. n/t

[PoliticalBiker]

3. Better Yet...

Eliminate it all together

POTUS is the only office elected in such a manner

If we are to be a true democracy, if we are to be truely guided by the will of the people POTUS needs to be elected by the same rules as every other office. This system is elitist and furthers the perception of a better-than-thou system of government.

While were at eliminating the elitist governmental processes, how about eliminating all private donations to candidates and campaigns? Create election pools of PUBLIC funds that individuals and businesses can contribute to, but not to an individual candidate. Any and all campaign funds can only be acquired from those pools... all candidates will have an equal share for a given race and can only use funds from those pools so not to give any one candidate or party an advantage over another.

So....
Eliminating the electoral college forces candidates for POTUS to consider ALL states in their campaign and election pools serve to even the playing field for all cadidates while serving to limit how much can be spent in any office race.
Would go a long way to fixing what's broke eh?

[DemocratSinceBirth]

4. The United State Isn't A Democracy

It's a republic or a democratic republic but it isn't and has never been a democracy. And given the fact that George W Bush's approval ratings were in the nineties in the immediate aftermath of 9-11 that's a good thing.

[DrToast]

6. The thing is that we're not a true democracy

We're a Republic. I don't like the electoral college, but it is consistent with our constitution.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

7. I Agree And Disagree

IMHO, interpreting the Constitution is akin to interpreting the Bible. Does one interpet it literally or figuratively. I prefer the latter approach to both documents. As Justice Thurgood Marshall said "the Constitution is a living document."

There are ways of addressing the flaws in the Electoral College without abandoning the Constitution. The Constitution does have a self correcting amendment process...

The political considerations are another thing...

[PoliticalBiker]

19. My point was...

I understand we are a republic. We are a *democratically elected* republic.
The election of POTUS is different than all the other elected offices in the country.
We are NOT electing the president, we are electing electors that are *expected but not required* to vote for the candidate chosen by the people of the various states.
Why should this be?
Why do we not directly elect the president by a majority vote of the public?
Is the Amrerican public not smart enough to know who they want to be president?
That's what the the EC makes it seem like.

Our political system is broken. There are some things that could be done that won't step on too many toes but could have a huge impact on how we the people elect our leaders.

[boingboinh]

5. Just Let us Vote Online For President; Afterall Voting online is always secure and accurate

[sofa king]

8. A popular vote would work with an informed electorate.

Let's get one of those first, and then talk about soliciting the opinions of people who currently cannot locate the United States on a globe.

Edit: Seriously, though, several states have considered awarding some or all of their EVs to the national popular vote winner, rather than the winner of their state. This is usually a sour-grapes response by people in intractable states that never waver in their support of one party or the other.

The cleverness of this idea is that it can quickly gather inertia. If the right ten states award their EVs to the national popular vote winner, that candidate will win every time and the flyover states can finally go fuck themselves. But you know how that goes: those chumps are talking about secession just because a black man is President; take away their overblown influence in Presidential elections, and they're sure to buck up.

[Laura PourMeADrink]

9. who wants to change this now? seems crazy to me. When Hillary runs in 2016 we don't want any

EV bonuses given out

[pnwmom]

16. Agreed. n/t

[Angry Dragon]

10. Just get rid of the whole system

[Tom Rinaldo]

11. Yes. Good idea

I would like there to be reasoned thought given to how many EV's were awarded for winning the popular vote, but it makes sense to me. Obviously it should be an odd number though to solve the problem of potential ties. Ideologically I favor deciding by popular vote only, but pragmatically the Electoral College gives us some protection against one region going batshit crazy and piling up votes way out of proportion for one candidate; either from something like racism (ahem) or vote manipulation of some kind. Still, a win in popular votes should count for something.

[pnwmom]

17. This:

" pragmatically the Electoral College gives us some protection against one region going batshit crazy and piling up votes way out of proportion for one candidate;"

[Bad Thoughts]

12. Elminate 100 Senator-based EC votes or ...

Double the size of the House of Representatives, increasing the number of EC votes. Either moves would make the Electoral College look more like the popular vote and retain the state based elections.

[NoOneMan]

13. How about double number of EVs and use proportional allocation

That way, the next time a hurricane hits, it wont dishenfranchise a region by suppressing their popular vote contribution.

[CuriousAboutPolls]

14. Not sure about electoral college change

I've long advocated changing to a popular vote model. Not so sure these days....direct democracy can turn into mob rule. Do we really want Southern voters who believe Adam rode a dinosaur to work controlling election outcomes? Or the 3 in 10 Republicans who believe Obama is a "secret Muslim." (I think that number is much higher, but that is the number I've heard in polls.) Currently, I find myself hoping beyond hope that until this country improves its educational system and the way our media works that we stay with the electoral college and just continue making bigger and bigger dents in the red parts of the nation.

[pnwmom]

15. I'm beginning to think the founders were wise about the electoral college.

Our union is made up of states, and the EC means that the President has to get votes from a variety of states, not just the major metro areas.

[squirecam]

18. Demographics

Demographics will give democrats an edge in the EC. Why give that up?

I dont need southerners stuffing ballot boxes just to get 50.1%. There will be more fraud without the EC.

System is fine the way it is. Those of you not in a swing state dont know how good you have it. Ads are 24/7 for months....

[bushisanidiot]

20. I think if the vote total for a state is 49.9 to 49.9

instead of doing recounts, they should split the electoral votes.

gore would have won with this scenario.

[brooklynite]

21. This is idiotic...

This idea seems to come from the notion that we need to establish a "winning" margin for a President to be successful, even if it's artificial. Quick, without looking, how many Electoral Votes did Obama get in 2008? How many did Bush get in 2004? Almost nobody knows. But almost anyone could tell you, within about 5%, what percentage of the vote they got. Clinton never got more than 50% of the vote and nobody disputes that he was an incredibly successful President.