Electoral college

The EC was to prevent stupid people from voting, so as it currently exists, it already disregards the Founders' intent. Furthermore, the EC makes votes in swing states worth more than votes in non-swing-states, clearly violating the principle of "one person, one vote." Like many political solutions, the EC was merely a product of compromise between powerful interests, and not some golden standard that subsequent democracies patterned themselves after.

Felix Ling @ 1:28 AM PDT, Sep 4, 2008

Just a thought: Our national campaigns are already dictated by only a handful of states: Ohio, Pennsylvania, Iowa, and Florida. Urban issues take a backseat to Ohio issues and this hurts the country as a whole. 75% of GDP comes from our urban centers yet no attention is paid to city issues such as crime, sprawl, infrastructure, etc. Doesn't anybody seem to mind? Get rid of the electoral college.

Concerned @ 12:38 PM PDT, Sep 3, 2008

Although no one can predict exactly how a presidential campaign would be run if every vote were equal throughout the United States, it is clear that candidates could not ignore voters in any part of any state. see http://www.NationalPopularVote.com

susan @ 9:29 AM PDT, Sep 3, 2008

If the National Popular Vote bill were to become law, it would not change the need for candidates to build a winning coalition across demographics. Any candidate who yielded, for example, the 21% of Americans who live in rural areas in favor of a "big city" approach would not likely win the national popular vote. Candidates would still have to appeal to a broad range of demographics, and perhaps even more so, because the election wouldn't be capable of coming down to just one demographic, such as voters in Ohio.

susan @ 9:29 AM PDT, Sep 3, 2008

In California, candidates for governor or U.S. Senate don't campaign just in Los Angeles and San Francisco, and those places don't control the outcome (otherwise we wouldn't have recently had governors Reagan, Deukmejian, Wilson, and Schwarzenegger). A vote in Alpine county is just an important as a vote in Los Angeles.

susan @ 9:27 AM PDT, Sep 3, 2008

National advertisers do not write off Indiana or Illinois merely because a competitor has a 8% lead in sales in those states. And, a national advertiser with an 8%-edge over its competitor does not stop trying to make additional sales in Indiana or Illinois.

susan @ 9:27 AM PDT, Sep 3, 2008

Evidence of the way a nationwide presidential campaign would be run comes from the way that national advertisers conduct nationwide sales campaigns. National advertisers seek out customers in small, medium, and large towns of every small, medium, and large state. National advertisers do not advertise only in big cities. They go after every single possible customer, regardless of where the customer is located.

susan @ 9:25 AM PDT, Sep 3, 2008

Article I-Section 10, Clause 3 of the U.S. Constitution specifically permits states to enter interstate compacts. In fact, there are hundreds of major compacts currently in force (and thousands of minor ones), as can be seen at http://www.csg.org/programs/ncic/default.aspx

susan @ 9:15 AM PDT, Sep 3, 2008

The Electoral College is a relic which has become, at best, counter-productive to the election of our President. In this time, characterized by the literally instant nation-wide communication of election data, we know, soon after the polls close, who won the popular vote. As we all know, we have a very bad President because of the College. Based upon popular vote, we'd have a different man to criticize and support and we could point to a fairer system of election. Let's get rid of the Electoral College.

Doug Tennant @ 9:05 AM PDT, Sep 3, 2008

Bravo, Michael! Very articulate. The reality that the US was founded as a republic has sadly been lost today. The electoral college is one vestige of America's founding that needs to remain intact. Otherwise, the only option is a classic democracy, which, as you obliquely pointed out, is one step away from anarchy.

Shawn Cohen @ 6:09 AM PDT, Sep 3, 2008

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