Direct Election
There was a time when the electoral college served its purpose. That purpose was the empowerment of all geographic regions in the nation, a goal that it has served well. As ethnicity came to play a role in politics, and ethnicity was tied to geography, for a time it played its role in protecting the interests of minority groups.
But the time has come to dismantle the structure. And that is because we no longer indentify based on state boundaries. I am no more likely to have a similar viewpoint to others from Massachusetts that I am someone from Texas. The electoral college no longer empowers voters, it disenfranchises them. And most importantly, it disenfranchises me, and that really pisses me off.
Effectively, unless you live in Florida, Indiana, Missouri, North Carolina, Nevada or Ohio, your single vote does not mean much. Those are the swing states, and the only states where there is expected to be competition. I am not saying dont vote, as you never know what can happen, and it is important to involve yourself in the Democratic process (though there are large segments of the population I wince at the thought of actually voting). But it is a frustrating situation, where I know, regarless of my desire to not live in the french republic of the United States, that my vote will have no impact on the general election.
And that is not a democratic system.
If you want a half-way house, do it this way and then have a direct runoff between the two leading candidates, that might be the best option anyway (and would have kept Bush senior in office another term - or possibly lead to the election of Al Gore).
Essentially, the system is broken, and it is one of many things in this nation which are in dire need of a fix.
But the time has come to dismantle the structure. And that is because we no longer indentify based on state boundaries. I am no more likely to have a similar viewpoint to others from Massachusetts that I am someone from Texas. The electoral college no longer empowers voters, it disenfranchises them. And most importantly, it disenfranchises me, and that really pisses me off.
Effectively, unless you live in Florida, Indiana, Missouri, North Carolina, Nevada or Ohio, your single vote does not mean much. Those are the swing states, and the only states where there is expected to be competition. I am not saying dont vote, as you never know what can happen, and it is important to involve yourself in the Democratic process (though there are large segments of the population I wince at the thought of actually voting). But it is a frustrating situation, where I know, regarless of my desire to not live in the french republic of the United States, that my vote will have no impact on the general election.
And that is not a democratic system.
If you want a half-way house, do it this way and then have a direct runoff between the two leading candidates, that might be the best option anyway (and would have kept Bush senior in office another term - or possibly lead to the election of Al Gore).
Essentially, the system is broken, and it is one of many things in this nation which are in dire need of a fix.
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