My Vote Would Not Have Counted

Published on June 8, 2007 By Jythier In Politics

In the 2004 elections, I did not vote. I did vote in 2006 though, and plan to for the rest of my life, so don't get all "Hey, he didn't vote!" on me. However, when I look at the system for voting for president, and I look at my state, I realize that my vote would not have carried any weight regardless. The person I would have voted for already won my state, therefore my vote would not have helped him.

The electoral college has outlived it's usefulness. If I remember correctly, it was started to keep the public from doing something stupid, like voting for a third party candidate, or voting in someone who was unfit for office. Now that George W. Bush has been voted in by the electoral college designed to prevent that very thing from happening, there is no longer a need for it!

Actually, holding onto the electoral college system could be okay. But I propose we change it up a little bit. Right now, if you get win the popular vote in California, you get 100% of the electoral votes. I propose that the electoral college should closely mirror the American public. If only 33% of voting-eligible Californians vote for the winning candidate, he should only get 33% of the electoral votes (rounded up). That way, every vote counts, as it will increase the percentage of voting-eligible people. So, my vote would have counted in that situation, as it might have increased that percentage to the next vote.

We could just go with a straight popular vote for the nation, which would make everyone's vote mean the same thing. Currently, the smaller the state, the more your vote means. California has .15 electoral votes per 100,000 population, while Rhode Island has .37 electoral votes per 100,000. Vermont has .48. And you thought moving to California would make your vote mean more!

http://www.fairvote.org/?page=985Link

Comments (Page 2)

ParaTed2k

on Jun 12, 2007

My work here is done. ;~D

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