Populist Reform Starts With One Person, One Vote.
Recently, Justice Ruth Ginsberg wrote a wonderful opinion on gerrymandering in which she said, voters should choose their representatives, not the other way around.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10026922012
Most particularly, we must turn the House around before 2020, so Republicans don't get to draw districts again.
We must work within our states, cities and towns.
We must advocate for voting rights.
We must register voters.
We must be on the alert for vote caging and other measures to keep people from voting.
We must help people vote. Absentee ballots help. So do rides to the polls, or arranging transportation.
We must make sure votes get counted properly.
We must serve as election officials.
Please, please use this thread to share your experiences and suggestions regarding voting related issues.
See also http://www.democraticunderground.com/12779117 (Ya say ya wanna revolution? Vote and GOTV)
Enthusiast
(50,983 posts)Martin Eden
(13,471 posts)merrily
(45,251 posts)I know that is not literally true, but that is how I see it.
Martin Eden
(13,471 posts)I see many problems with the EC:
Disproportionate representaion based on number of senators & reps. Reps are roughly proportionate, but every state regardless of population has 2 senators. Small states have more EC votes per person than states with large populations. Voter turnout can make that ratio even more disproportionate.
Winner take all is not in the Constitution, but nearly every state employs it. All the EC votes go to the candidate with the most votes, whether it's a landslide or the narrowest of margins. Only a relative handful of states are really up for grabs, which means the solidly red or blue states are mostly ignored and citizens there have less incentive to vote because they already know who will win their state.
"Members" of the Electoral College are not bound by law to cast their vote according to the popular vote in their state. This rarely if ever happens, but the entire EC system is IMO an anachronism created for an era when actual electors would have to travel by horse or carriage to cast votes in multiple rounds when no candidate received a majority of EC votes initially.
The candidate with the most actual votes cast by citizens can lose, and that's just plain wrong in my opinion.
merrily
(45,251 posts)
The candidate with the most actual votes cast by citizens can lose, and that's just plain wrong in my opinion.
In my opinion, too.