Is the Electoral College System working? - Opinion

Not all votes are created equal.

If you live in a blue state or a red state your vote (Republican or Democrat) for President did not make a difference. As a Republican in California I voted for Romney but it did not change the outcome; all of California’s 55 Elector votes will be cast for Obama. However the same can be said if I were a Democrat in Texas voting for Obama; all of Texas’ 34 Elector votes will go to Romney.

The result is that only those living in “swing states” have their votes count. The candidates spend the majority of their time in those states listening, to “their” concerns and address theirs; they are not concerned about California issues because it will not affect their election or reelection (except for fundraising) no matter which party wins. If $1 billion were available to build one highway and it came down between California and Ohio who do you think the funds would go to? The candidates don’t care about our vote (Republican or Democrat) in California because they know what the outcome will be.

The inequity in the Electoral College System creates winners and losers.

Half of the voters (51 percent) live in 14 uncontested states; California, New York, Texas, Illinois, Michigan, Georgia, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Indiana, Tennessee, Missouri, Maryland, Louisiana and Kentucky. They count the least so are the big losers.

The nine battleground states are big winners as they get all of the attention but only have 20 percent of the eligible voters resulting in four out of five voters being ignored.

But the biggest winners are voters in four small states; Colorado, New Hampshire, Iowa and Nevada. They only have 4 percent of the nation’s voters (1 in 25) but have a big impact on the outcome.

Changing the “winner take all” system would change that, candidates would campaign in every state looking for votes.

BILL SNODGRASS
Camino