Sorry, no cartoons in this post.
I have never understood the logic behind the electoral college system. If you can explain it to me, please do.
There is a somewhat new idea gaining some steam that will hopefully be enacted for the 2012 election. It is the National Popular Vote (NPV) system.
Currently, Texans have 34 electoral votes for president. If McCain wins by 1,000,000 or 1 vote in the state, he still gets all 34 electoral votes. That doesn't make sense to me and it also disenfranchises many non-republican voters in Texas that know they don't have much of a chance to overthrow the Republican candidate in the state.
Under the NPV system, the 34 electoral votes would not be decided solely by the Texas popular vote, but by the national popular vote. If McCain wins the national popular vote than he gets all 34 Texas electoral votes, and vice versa for Obama.
If/when this legislation is passed in all 50 states, then every vote will matter. Even, democrats in Texas and republicans in California. Doesn't that make sense?
If you want some further details on this legislation, go here: http://www.nationalpopularvote.com/index.php
Okay, maybe just one cartoon:
1 comments:
i wonder if the electoral college has become too antiquated, too. however, the idea was decent in principle. our view of america as one nation is much different than the creators of the electoral college system. their idea was that each state would get a vote based upon its own election system, not that every american's vote would count toward the national total. it comes from a strong federalism. if it were to be changed (and i feel strongly that it might be, especially if the republicans win the popular vote this time around and lose the electoral college), it would take a pretty massive overhaul, and it would nationalize elections.
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