Comments on Woods Cross Citizen: Democrat wants electoral college abolished...

I favor the Electoral College. Here are two great ...

2008-08-19T21:58:00.000-06:00

I favor the Electoral College. Here are two great (older) pieces on why we should keep it.

Pete du Pont in the Wall Street Journal
John C. Weicher in National Review

So according to your quoted poll, 18% more Democra...

2008-08-19T12:34:00.000-06:00

So according to your quoted poll, 18% more Democrats than Republicans support changing to a popular vote. Interesting.

72% OF THE PUBLIC SUPPORT NATIONWIDE POPULAR ELECT...

2008-08-19T12:07:00.000-06:00

72% OF THE PUBLIC SUPPORT NATIONWIDE POPULAR ELECTION OF THE PRESIDENT IN 2007 POLL TAKEN BY WASHINGTON POST, KAISER FAMILY FOUNDATION, AND HARVARD UNIVERSITY

Question 22 of the Washington Post-Kaiser Family Foundation-Harvard University Survey of Political Independents conducted in May-June 2007 asked:

For future presidential elections, would you support or oppose changing to a

Evidence of the way a nationwide presidential camp...

2008-08-19T12:02:00.000-06:00

Evidence of the way a nationwide presidential campaign would be run comes from the way that national advertisers conduct nationwide sales campaigns. National advertisers seek out customers in small, medium, and large towns of every small, medium, and large state. National advertisers do not advertise only in big cities. Instead, they go after every single possible customer, regardless of where

The current system does not provide some kind of c...

2008-08-19T12:00:00.000-06:00

The current system does not provide some kind of check on the "mobs." There have been 22,000 electoral votes cast since presidential elections became competitive (in 1796), and only 10 have been cast for someone other than the candidate nominated by the elector's own political party. The electors are dedicated party activists who meet briefly in mid-December to cast their totally predictable

The small states are the most disadvantaged of all...

2008-08-19T11:58:00.000-06:00

The small states are the most disadvantaged of all under the current system of electing the President. Political clout comes from being a closely divided battleground state, not the two-vote bonus.

Small states are almost invariably non-competitive in presidential election. Only 1 of the 13 smallest states are battleground states (and only 5 of the 25 smallest states are battlegrounds).

"Basically, it’s one person, one vote," said Judy ...

2008-08-19T08:44:00.000-06:00

"Basically, it’s one person, one vote," said Judy Middelkoop, who is co-chairing the League of Women Voters of Schenectady County’s National Popular Vote committee.

See, this is why the people driving attempts to change or eliminate the electoral college come off as hopeless uninformed in history and basic Constitutional principles. Prior to this "one person, one vote" concept,

I'm all for the abolition of the Electoral College...

2008-08-19T00:38:00.000-06:00

I'm all for the abolition of the Electoral College, and I'm a Republican. The college system is an age old solution to a problem that no longer exists (the assumption that information wasn't easy to spread in the early years of our nation, and creating a college to represent the voters with a single vote). But it must be abolished nationwide, not state by state. Make every vote count.

http://www.dailygazette.com/news/2008/aug/10/0810_...

2008-08-18T21:06:00.000-06:00

http://www.dailygazette.com/news/2008/aug/10/0810_electoral/

http://nationalpopularvote.com/pages/op-eds/baltimoresun_20080326.php

Two examples among many.

And 97.3% of all statistics are made up on the spo...

2008-08-18T21:00:00.000-06:00

And 97.3% of all statistics are made up on the spot.

70 percent of Americans want to abolish the electo...

2008-08-18T20:29:00.000-06:00

70 percent of Americans want to abolish the electoral college. This is not a partisan issue.

Another Democrat here who finds the title misleadi...

2008-08-18T20:13:00.000-06:00

Another Democrat here who finds the title misleading. I'd challenge the author to find statistics to back up his statement that this is something "Dems" want.

Looks like DD and I are on the same wave length.

2008-08-18T18:21:00.000-06:00

Looks like DD and I are on the same wave length.

Wouldn't your title be more honest if it said, "A ...

2008-08-18T18:19:00.000-06:00

Wouldn't your title be more honest if it said, "A DEM" wants the electoral college abolished?

Just asking.

Care to name another Democrat with that view? I t...

2008-08-18T17:50:00.000-06:00

Care to name another Democrat with that view? I think most Democrats are pretty confident (perhaps over-confident) that with Obama's grassroots strategy, he will win the most electoral states ever.

davis didjeridu,I'll keep the title. My main reaso...

2008-08-18T15:36:00.000-06:00

davis didjeridu,
I'll keep the title. My main reason for putting that title on it is many democrats want the electoral college abolished because it appears that Obama could win the popular vote and lose the Electoral College vote. If it were swapped, it would be Republicans clamoring for abolishing the Electoral College.

Keep the Electoral College, but require states to ...

2008-08-18T14:54:00.000-06:00

Keep the Electoral College, but require states to elect Electors proportionally (and not by district).

Utah has five Electoral Votes.

Under a proportional system, if McCain won 60 percent of the vote and Obama won 40 percent of the vote, McCain would get three electors and Obama would get two electors.

That's a fair, proportional result rather than the distorted outcome

I think your title is misleading and you should ch...

2008-08-18T14:35:00.000-06:00

I think your title is misleading and you should change it. Frank Pignanelli is no more an official representative of Utah Democrats or Democrats in general than LaVarr Webb is of Republicans. I don't think he has had much influence since he ran against Rocky in 2003, and hasn't held any Democratic office above maybe precinct chair since then. Just like La Var, he's just a lobbyist.

The problem with attempting to "fix" the electoral...

2008-08-18T12:45:00.000-06:00

The problem with attempting to "fix" the electoral college is the false belief that we are responsible for directly electing the chief executive. This is absolutely false. The electoral college is meant to be a check against popular sentiment in the event that a dangerous executive is chosen by the people. Much in the same way that "progressives" dismantled the careful balance between the people

I think you nailed it. The electoral college make...

2008-08-18T12:36:00.000-06:00

I think you nailed it. The electoral college makes small states matter. The fact that Utah doesn't get much presidential play has nothing to do with the college, and everything to do with nobody liking Democrats around here. Which is precisely why the 50 state strategy is a good one.