Kruse: The Electoral College
One More Voice Calling For The End Of The Electoral College
by Carl Kruse
For whatever reasons it was established way back when, and whatever benefits it might have
today, that the Electoral College in the U.S. contravenes the will of the people is a great blow
to Democracy.
The winner of the votes in any election should win.
If the Electoral College contravenes this, as it has done in two of the last five U.S. elections,
then it’s time for the Electoral College to go. Fairness calls for it.
The benefit argued for the Electoral College today: smaller states will not be forgotten by
candidates who in theory would only target large population centers because that is where all
the votes are. But, it’s a complete failure in this regard. Because of modern U.S. demographics
— as opposed to those in 1787 when the Electoral College was instituted — many states vote
predictably- for example, California and New York always vote Democratic, Texas and Utah
always vote Republican, and so forth. What this means is that every U.S. election comes down
to the SWING STATES – those states that are not predictable, such as Ohio, Florida, North
Carolina, Virginia and a few others. What we now see today is a tyranny of the swing state.
California and Texas, the two largest and arguably most important states in the USA, receive
precisely zero presidential visits or attention, while the 50,000 residents of Cayuga County,
Ohio are showered with money and visits. Does this make sense?