I have expressed my displeasure with the Electoral College in this journal and on X (formerly Twitter). Should we have 1 election or 51 elections? Why should a candidate with less popular votes win the election? It would require a vote of 2/3 in the House and the Senate followed by ratification by 38 state legislature. This would never happen in today's political climate. Until today, I was only aware of New York Times journalist Gail Collins speaking out against this dinosaur from our constitution. I just wish that some Senators or Representatives would bash it.
I found out today from a History Channel website that in 1969 the House of Representatives by a wide margin voted to abolish it, but a filibuster in the Senate led by Southerners killed the bill. Even if the Senate passed the resolution, 38 state legislatures must approve it.
I also found out about the book Let the People Pick the President: The Case for Abolishing the Electoral College written by Jesse Wegman, a member of the New York Times editorial board. Back in 1968 80% of Americans felt the president should be elected by popular vote. How many would want that today?
No comments:
Post a Comment