I would go one better on this. The best examples are Maine and Nebraska,
where they divvy out the electoral votes by Congressional district.
Let's say an odd-number set of electoral votes---we'll use New York, for
example, with its 29 electoral votes. There are 27 Congressional
districts, plus the 2 Senatorial votes. Whoever gets the most votes per
district, wins that district; whoever gets the most districts, gets the
extra 2 Senatorial votes.
In an even-number electoral vote state---we'll use Ohio, for example, with
its 20 votes---you have here 18 Congressional districts. Whoever gets the
most votes per district, wins that district; whoever gets the most
districts, gets the extra 2 Senatorial votes. However, if each
presidential candidate gets 9 districts, they split the 2 Senatorial
votes.
I'll go with this kind of electoral college plan, rather than either the
current winner-take-all scheme or a direct popular vote---the latter
tending to give the large urban areas all the power, while tending to leave
people in the hinterland out to dry.
Electoral College Compromise |
by Joe Bialek |
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The framers of the US Constitution created the Electoral College as a result of a compromise for the presidential election process. During the debate, some delegates felt that a direct popular election would lead to the election of each state’s favorite son and none would emerge with sufficient popular majority to govern the country. Other delegates felt that giving Congress the power to select the president would deny the people their right to choose. After all, the people voted for their representatives to the federal legislature. The compromise was to set up an Electoral College system that allowed voters to vote for electors, who would then cast their votes for candidates, a system described in Article II, section 1 of the Constitution.
Each state is allocated a number of electors equal to the number of its US senators (always two) plus the number of its US representatives (which may change each decade according to the size of each state’s population as determined in the Census).
Whichever party slate wins the most popular votes in the state becomes that state’s electors—so that, in effect, whichever presidential ticket gets the most popular votes in a state wins all the electors of that state.
The debate has started again as to whether the US Constitution should be amended in order to change the presidential election process. Some promote eliminating the Electoral College in favor of a direct popular vote for president while others believe the Electoral College should remain unchanged. Just as compromise solved the initial problems of the framers so it is that compromise can solve this problem. The solution is to change the electoral votes to electoral points and reward each candidate a percentage of points based on the percentage of popular votes received in each state. This would eliminate the “winner take all” system thus allowing for all the votes to count. A voter is more apt to believe their vote counted when a percentage of popular votes are taken into account rather than the “all or nothing” system currently in existence. Further, this new system would integrate the desire for a popular vote for president with the need for the individual states to determine who actually gets elected.
Joe Bialek
Cleveland, Ohio
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Reader Comments
Lloyd A. Marshall, Jr. 29 Aug 2008, 21:43
susan 02 Sep 2008, 15:07
The National Popular Vote bill would guarantee the Presidency to the
candidate who receives the most popular votes in all 50 states (and DC),
without requiring a constitutional amendment. Every vote would be politically relevant and equal in a presidential election. The bill would take effect only when enacted, in identical form, by states possessing a majority of the electoral votes—that is, enough electoral votes to elect a President (270 of 538). When the bill comes into effect, all the electoral votes from those states would be awarded to the presidential candidate who receives the most popular votes in all 50 states (and DC). The National Popular Vote bill has passed 21 state legislative chambers, including one house in Arkansas, Colorado, Maine, North Carolina, and Washington, and both houses in California, Hawaii, Illinois, New Jersey, Maryland, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Vermont. The bill has been enacted by Hawaii, Illinois, New Jersey, and Maryland. These four states possess 50 electoral votes — 19% of the 270 necessary to bring the law into effect. See http://www.NationalPopularVote.com
Saddam
27 Oct 2009, 08:56
The National Popular Vote bill would guarantee the Presidency to the
candidate who receives the most popular votes in all 50 states (and DC),
without requiring a constitutional amendment. Every vote would be politically relevant and equal in a presidential election. The bill would take effect only when enacted, in identical form, by states possessing a majority of the electoral votes—that is, enough electoral votes to elect a President (270 of 538). When the bill comes into effect, all the electoral votes from those states would be awarded to the presidential candidate who receives the most popular votes in all 50 states (and DC). The National Popular Vote bill has passed 21 state legislative chambers, including one house in Arkansas, Colorado, Maine, North Carolina, and Washington, and both houses in California, Hawaii, Illinois, New Jersey, Maryland, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Vermont. The bill has been enacted by Hawaii, Illinois, New Jersey, and Maryland. These four states possess 50 electoral votes — 19% of the 270 necessary to bring the law into effect. See http://www.NationalPopularVote.com Leave a Comment:
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