Elizabeth Warren has jumped on the bandwagon to abandon the Electoral College.
Once upon a time each state was sovereign. The people directly elected members of the House Representatives; senators were elected by state legislators and president by the Electoral College. The House belonged to the people, and the Senate belonged to the states. The 17th Amendment changed the Senate from legislative vote to popular vote.
The main result of abolishing the Electoral College would be that populous states like California, New York, Texas, Florida, Illinois and Pennsylvania, only six states, and perhaps six others, would largely decide who is elected president, regardless of how most of the others voted. That would leave potentially 38 states without input on how the country is run.
If the Electoral College were to be abandoned, it would effectively eliminate the sovereignty of the individual state. That would pave the way for elimination of state boundaries and the need for state governments. Everything could be melded into one amalgamated and powerful federal government.
To make direct presidential elections fair, the U.S. would have to implement compulsory voting (with penalties for NOT voting), harsh penalties for voter fraud, strict voter registration and identification, and strict campaign donation restrictions – and really, there ought to be anyway. A lot of changes would need to take place, requiring a bigger and more bloated federal government.
Each and every individual state has a unique history, a unique culture and a unique personality. I think it would be a horrible shame if each did not have a proportional voice in who was elected president.
What does an eastern bureaucrat know about the individual needs and wants of rural Nebraska, wild Alaska or even southern Alabama?
The Electoral College was designed to give each state, region and culture a proportional say in the federal government. Over the past 100 years, Washington, D.C., has managed to slice pieces of state sovereignty away to the detriment of We the People. Enough is enough.
Leave the Electoral College alone.
Stephen Downey
