1. The electoral votes from a state are given 99% of the time on a winner-take-all basis, the only exception in the history of the country being Nebraska in the 2008 election. That means, if 51% of California votes for Obama in the next election, he gets all 55 of the votes. That's over 10% of the total electoral votes won by a margin of about 280,000 votes (assuming 100% voting turnout, with a population of about 28 million eligible to vote according to the 2010 census). Expanding on this by taking the top 11 states with the most electorates (California, Texas, Florida, New York, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Ohio, Michigan, Georgia, North Caroline, and Virginia), 50% of the electoral votes (249 out of 538) can be won with just 1% margins in each state. 1.3 million people have the opportunity to swing the presidential election, provided they live in the right states. That's under 0.5%. Compare that to the 2% necessary to swing an election by direct vote.
2. The Electoral College was part of the 3/5ths Compromise that was reached during the drafting of the Constitution. It was created because, if the presidential election went by popular vote, the North could easily out-vote the South, due to slaves not being able to vote. Instead, with the 3/5ths Compromise, Southern states gained 3 population for every 5 slaves in the state, which meant increases in representation in the House of Representatives, which meant more electoral votes. The compromise balanced the North and South in terms of voting power. There is one glaring flaw with the Electoral College's continued existence. That's right, slavery has been illegal for 145 years. The Electoral College, for no reason whatsoever, is the only part of the 3/5ths Compromise that was kept after the 13th Amendment. Slavery is no longer an issue in the United States. Every citizen 18 years of age or older has the right to vote. Direct election is possible now without one ideological group overpowering its opposition by an unfair margin due to unbalanced numbers of eligible voters.
3. Americans WANT direct election. According to a 2001 Gallup poll, a majority of Americans supported direct election of the president. A 2004 Gallup poll showed that there was still a majority in favor of direct election. If you went and took a poll today, there would STILL be a majority. This change has been desired by a majority for at least 10 years. If the Senate and House could get 67% approval, then the 75% of state legislatures would be no problem. But, what Congress has done for the past 10 years instead of listening to what Americans want in this matter is a whole different discussion.
You thought I would accidentally the Rick Perry on #3, didn't you?
Author
Topic: American Election Megathread - It's Over (Read 764002 times)