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Gary Parish
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| The Electoral College: Source of Inequality and Social Injustice in America by Gary Parish |
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| ELECTORAL COLLEGE REFORM OPTIONS |
• One Person One Vote Myth • Fundamentally Unfair! • See For Yourself! • Social Injustice • Football Analogy • Moral Arguments • EC Cancels Votes • Founding Fathers • Invalid Arguments For EC • States' Rights? • Reform Options • Conclusion • Inequality Maps • EC Cartoons • Postscript:Voting Power • References • Acknowledgements • Action Center • Get Involved • E-mail White House • E-mail Congress • E-mail Newspapers • E-mail Political Parties • E-mail Networks • E-mail Media • Calling Cards • Teaching Notes |
Of the Electoral College reform options considered to date only two--direct election of the president by popular vote, and the "House-based, or neo-Wilsonian" plan--can eliminate the inequality and injustice discussed on the web site. The other options such as the proportional plan, the district plan, the New Hampshire or Nebraska methods, etc., retain the two senatorial electors of the Electoral College and therefore perpetuate the inequality described on this web site. Supporting one of these options merely pushes the day of true equality in America further and further into the future.
Direct Popular Election With Instant Runoff Voting Election of the president through direct popular vote is appealing because it eliminates both the large and small state biases of the current system. Coupled with "instant runoff elections", it corrects the Electoral College problem by eliminating the college completely. However direct popular election has problems with third parties and splintering; and the legitimacy questions raised by candidates who win the popular vote but fail to win a majority of the votes. It also has problems dealing with re-counts, the disproportionate effects of voter turn-out, and enhanced prospects of election fraud. The "House-based, or neo-Wilsonian Plan" This option surfaced most recently in an award winning paper by Glenn W. Rainey, Jr. and Jane Gurganus Rainey in 2001. It allocates electoral votes on the basis of House seats alone, and awards them in proportion to the the statewide popular vote. According to Rainey, Jr., and Rainey this plan was proposed by James Wilson--the delegate from Pennsylvania at the constitutional convention of 1787. This plan resurfaced in 1969 in a proposal by Representative Frank Horton of New York (Sayre and Parris, 1970, pp. 199-120). According to Rainey, Jr., and Rainey "The change required in the Constitution is very simple. It could be accomplished with an amendment which read: "The Electors appointed by each state to elect the President shall be equal to the whole Number of Representatives to which the State may be entitled in the House of Representatives." The electoral vote of the District of Columbia, based on the Twenty-third Amendment is already equated to that of the smallest states and would adjust automatically."This option eliminates the two senatorial Elector votes from each state, and the "winner take all" rule. All other aspects of the Electoral College are retained.These changes convert the current unfair Electoral College procedures to a true election process. Because it eliminates the injustice and inequality described on this web site; because it involves the least change to the machinery of government; The neo-Wilsonian Plan is the option advocated on this web site. The major problem of the House or neo-Wilsonian Plan is that the the people in smaller states that enjoy the unfair advantage provided by the Electoral College are reluctant give up their advantage, no matter that it comes at the expense of people in the larger states or the reputation of the United States to the rest of the world. Reforming The Electoral College Implementing the neo-Wilsonian option requires a change to the US Constitution which involves approval of both the House of Representatives and the Senate, and ratification by 3/4ths of the states--widely considered by the politicians and pundits to be a very steep hurdle. However difficult it may be, the problem of the Electoral College is so grave to our country that it must be set right immediately. The differences in the value of a vote caused by the Electoral College are scandalous . Americans should be shocked and shamed by their very existence; and should demand reform or replacement of the Electoral College by their elected officials. Every political party should take up the banner of Electoral College reform--one person, one vote--and parade that issue in every session of Congress until these egregious inequities are eliminated. Americans of every race, color, gender, and religion should work to reform or eliminate the Electoral College as a matter of highest national priority. You can be a part of this historic movement to reform the Electoral College. You now have the basic facts to take intelligent action and add your voice to the growing call for Electoral College reform. Go now to the Electoral College Reform Action Center and e-mail your local newspapers, the media, your political party, your congressmen, the President and Vice President. Working together, Americans who value equality and equal protection under the law can eliminate this grievous flaw in the American system of government and restore America to the forefront of the democracies and democratic republics of the world. |
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