Abolish the Electoral College

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There is a simple truth about Donald Trump he would like you to forget.

Despite Russian collusion, campaign finance shenanigans, blatant corruption, voter suppression and misogyny against his opponent – he still did not win the popular vote.

It took the racist, outdated, unnecessary and wholly unfair Electoral College to put Trump in the White House. The Electoral College system subverts the will of voters and denies each person their full vote. Progressive champion Sen. Brian Schatz just introduced a constitutional amendment to abolish it.1

Source: vox.com

Today, a handful of battleground states effectively pick the next president for the entire country. Rural and suburban areas are already overrepresented in the Senate and House of Representatives, and the Electoral College tilts the situation even more.2 The Electoral College effectively erases the votes of countless people of color in safe Republican states, like the south. Sen. Schatz declared, “No one’s vote should count for more based on where they live. The Electoral College is outdated and it’s undemocratic. It’s time to end it.”3

The Electoral College’s roots are in the founders’ racist fears of slave states having too little power. As Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez put it, “It is well past time we eliminate the Electoral College, a shadow of slavery’s power on America today that undermines our nation as a democratic republic.”4

In just the last 16 years, two candidates who won the majority vote – Al Gore and Hillary Clinton – have not served as president. In fact, in the last six out of seven presidential elections, Democrats won the majority vote although Republicans have claimed Electoral College victory in three. Every vote should be counted equally. The broken and biased Electoral College system should not have the power to subvert the will of the people.

Source: civilbeat.org

Sen. Brian Schatz just introduced a constitutional amendment that would abolish the Electoral College. Rep. Steve Cohen did the same in the House in early January. Democrats should push for an immediate vote and force Republicans to go on the record opposing it. At the same time, there are efforts across the country to get states to allocate their presidential electors based on the popular vote in each state, a process that would not require amending the Constitution.5,6

Not only would abolishing the Electoral College ensure that the person who actually gets the most votes wins the presidency, but it would also force candidates to spend time engaging with voters in all 50 states, instead of just a handful of swing states. Every vote in every state should matter in every presidential election.

Thank you for speaking out.

References:

  1. Sen. Brian Schatz, “Schatz, Durbin, Feinstein, Gillibrand Introduce Constitutional Amendment To End Undemocratic Electoral College,” April 2, 2019.
  2. Susan Grigsby, “Racism is a battle we fought before,” Daily Kos, Dec. 4, 2016.
  3. Sen. Schatz, “Schatz, Durbin, Feinstein, Gillibrand Introduce Constitutional Amendment To End Undemocratic Electoral College.”
  4. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, “It is well past time…” Oct. 6, 2018.
  5. Sen. Schatz, “Schatz, Durbin, Feinstein, Gillibrand Introduce Constitutional Amendment To End Undemocratic Electoral College.”
  6. Sebastian Murdock, “Rep. Steve Cohen Introduces Bills To Get Rid Of Electoral College, Stop Presidents Self-Pardoning,” HuffPost, Jan. 4, 2019

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