Electoral College Bypass
I wonder if the Democrats pushing this in California realize that if it changes the outcome of an election, it would -- in the forseeable future -- only hurt Democrats?
The plan is that the California electoral college votes would go to whichever candidate got the most "popular votes" nationwide. There's some obvious problems with this: some states may choose not to have a popular vote, and then what do you do? Also, small states would never agree to it, so you're giving up some of your power that others will retain. And so on.
But the funniest part is that if Kerry wound up with a hundred thousand or so more votes in Ohio last election, giving him the EC victory (even though Bush had more "popular votes"), California's EC votes would have switched from Kerry to Bush. So California's voters, who picked Kerry overwhelmingly, would have handed the victory to Bush.
And since California leans Democratic and will continue to do so for many years to come, this is not going to change any time soon: the voters will continue to pick the Democratic candidate for President, and yet risk giving all their EC votes to the Republican candidate, depending on what people in the other states do.
I gotta say, that's pretty stupid.
The plan is that the California electoral college votes would go to whichever candidate got the most "popular votes" nationwide. There's some obvious problems with this: some states may choose not to have a popular vote, and then what do you do? Also, small states would never agree to it, so you're giving up some of your power that others will retain. And so on.
But the funniest part is that if Kerry wound up with a hundred thousand or so more votes in Ohio last election, giving him the EC victory (even though Bush had more "popular votes"), California's EC votes would have switched from Kerry to Bush. So California's voters, who picked Kerry overwhelmingly, would have handed the victory to Bush.
And since California leans Democratic and will continue to do so for many years to come, this is not going to change any time soon: the voters will continue to pick the Democratic candidate for President, and yet risk giving all their EC votes to the Republican candidate, depending on what people in the other states do.
I gotta say, that's pretty stupid.
"It is the common fate of the indolent to see their rights become a prey to the active. The condition upon which God hath given liberty to man is eternal vigilance; which condition if he break, servitude is at once the consequence of his crime and the punishment of his guilt."
Leave a comment