Sunday, September 25, 2022

Changing the Way We Elect our Presidents

There is a push today to change the way we elect our Presidents.  In the current system, a person can be elected President who does not receive the majority of all the votes of all those who voted. 

Our Founders, profound students of history, rejected both the idea of direct democracy for our country and the popular vote for the President.  We are a republic and not a democracy, and states elect the President and not individuals. 

Since the President is President of all the United STATES, they wanted to be sure that all the states had a voice in the process.  The only way to do that is by the Electoral College. 

In this new plan, states would give all their electoral votes to the Presidential candidate who got the most votes overall.  Meaning, that even if most of the people in your state voted for the other candidate, that is to say, most of the people in your state voted for the electors of the other candidate, they will simply nullify your vote and choose different electors. 

And somehow this is better.

I saw a map recently.  Maps That Put The World In Perspective - Explored Planet  It shows the United States in red and gray.  Probably 95% of the map is gray.  There are more people living in the 5% red areas than the 95% gray area.  In other words, people who live in cities will elect our Presidents, and those in rural areas and smaller towns, not so much if at all.

Our country is currently in the midst of a social and political upheaval.  Beware of any comprehensive, major moves to change big things, particularly through attempts to get around things our country was built on, like the Constitution. 

If this is so popular, pass a Constitutional Amendment.  That is how you’re supposed to change the system.  This plan will override the votes of the majority of the people in a state to get what they want here.  You’re creating a bigger problem than the one you want to fix.