Abolish the Electoral College

The lead editorial in this mornings NYT’s calls for the abolition of the Electoral College.

Here are the key paragraphs:

The main problem with the Electoral College is that it builds into every election the possibility, which has been a reality three times since the Civil War, that the president will be a candidate who lost the popular vote. This shocks people in other nations who have been taught to look upon the United States as the world's oldest democracy. The Electoral College also heavily favors small states. The fact that every one gets three automatic electors - one for each senator and a House member - means states that by population might be entitled to only one or two electoral votes wind up with three, four or five.

The majority does not rule and every vote is not equal - thoseare reasons enough for scrapping the system. But there are other consequences aswell. This election has been making clear how the Electoral College distorts presidential campaigns. A few swing states take on oversized importance, leading the candidates to focus their attention, money and promises on a small slice of the electorate. We are hearing far more this year about the issue of storing hazardous waste at Yucca Mountain, an important one for Nevada's 2.2 million residents, than about securing ports against terrorism, a vital concern for 19.2 million New Yorkers. The political concerns of Cuban-Americans, who are concentrated in the swing state of Florida, are of enormous interest to the candidates. The interests of people from Puerto Rico scarcely come up at all,since they are mainly settled in areas already conceded as Kerry territory. The emphasis on swing states removes the incentive for a large part of the population to follow the campaign, or even to vote.

The truth is, its long overdue. The Electoral College is a relic of the past.

I really thought after the last election that the Constitution would be amended to move to one citizen, one vote. The current system gives way too much power to a handful of large states while so many other citizens are just ignored.

A couple amendments were proposed in 2001 but went nowhere. Had President Gore lost the last election by 600,000 votes an amendment would have shortly been winging its way through the states, but with the Republican party well on its way to permanent minority status, I don’t think anything will happen any time soon.