If presidential elections were decided by popular vote instead of the Electoral College, Al Gore would have been elected president in 2000. How we choose a president profoundly impacts how campaigns are run, the importance of swing states and an election’s outcome. It’s certainly no surprise that the Electoral College vs. popular vote controversy has sparked considerable debate. As the issue surfaces heading into November, is it time to graduate from the Founding Father's Electoral College concept, or are popularity contests no way to choose a president?
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States Have the Power to Allocate Their Electoral Votes
- From National Popular Vote
By National Popular Vote - To Implement a Popular Election
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True. States have the right to determine the rules for electors.
But, the rules they use today are based upon the electoral results within their own state. Basing the allocation of Electoral College votes on election results outside of the state makes voting by states obsolete and immaterial. The plan put forth by National Popular Vote is just a convoluted way to amend the Constitution without doing the hard work of the Amendment process - as spelled out by the Constitution itself.
In 2004, Washington, New York, and California voted for Kerry. Under the NPV plan, the electoral votes of these states would have been given to GWB - 180 degrees out of phase with how the voters of those state actually voted. The only voters whose votes would actually count are the ones in states that voted the same as the national majority.
I don't have an issue with States that want to change their "winner-take-all" formula and apportion their electoral votes based on the elections results within their own state.
- SouthernRoots
August 22, 2008 3:15PM
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Side: Electoral College
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