Saturday, October 13, 2007

End the Electoral College!

There was a flaw in the Henry Rollins plan. The flaw is known as the Electoral College. The Electoral College creates an environment whereby voters can rest assured that their vote will not count if they don't vote for either a Republican or a Democrat. In some cases it assures voters that their vote won't count anyway. For instance, here in the great state of Kansas it really doesn't matter who I vote for, because Kansas will go Republican. It always goes republican no matter what. Candidates don't bother to campaign here because they either don't need to or there's no hope. If I vote Republican it does nothing to help the Republican candidate get elected, he get's Kansas's electoral votes with or without my vote. My vote has 0 effect. If I vote Democrat, then my vote will be worthless when Kansas casts all of it's electoral votes for the Republican candidate. Third Party candidate? Slightly less than a snowball's chance in Hell.

Third party candidates cannot ever hope to be elected president while this antiquated system is in place. Ralph Nader can do no more than make a statement every four years. While the Electoral College remains in place, he can never be president. Who would vote for him? A scattered minority might cast a vote as a political statement, but the vast majority of voters who might otherwise vote for him will not, because it's the equivalent of throwing away their vote.

No serious change to our political system can occur while the Electoral College is in place. It's very existence ensures the continuation of the two party system because of the psychological influence it has on how people vote.

Finally I have some backing for my views. A friend of mine sent this article calling for the end of the Electoral College. This is an educated writer, bringing to light the reasons for it's creation, and why it is no longer relevant in current society. Read this then write your congressman and call for a bill to end the Electoral College and go to a common vote for the presidential office.

It's the 21st century now people! Time for a change!

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