I’ve voted in every national election, as well as most local elections, since 1972s Nixon vs. McGovern. I am seriously considering not voting this time. Why? Because I have been disfranchised. Never mind the various amendments guaranteeing voting privileges; the current system negates individual votes.
Presidents in this country are put into office by the Electoral College, not by popular vote. Over 90 percent of the states cast their electoral votes as a winner take all block. If you live in a state that is decidedly Republican or Democrat, and that is not your party, casting a ballot for the president of your choice is an exercise in futility. Obviously, the presidential contenders think so too, since this presidential campaign is being waged in a few states. Rather than a national election, it is more like a hotly contested state campaign getting some national coverage.
I’m not sure the Electoral College ever made sense. From what I have read, most of the reasons for the creation of that institution are not noble. To me, they seem to boil down to the lack of trust many of our Founding Fathers felt for the common masses. Officially, it was meant to provide a balance between State and Federal concerns, between rural and urban, etc. There may have been some vague rationale during the horse and buggy period, but in this day of jets and cell phones there is not a good reason to maintain this system.
The Electoral College needs to be done away with, an act requiring a constitutional amendment. It is high time this government of the people, for the people, have the highest officials elected BY the people. It is high time for the Electoral College to go the way of powdered wigs.
Spot on!!
I also have an issue with the election process in Mississippi. In the primary elections we must choose to vote either Republican or Democrat. Citizens are not allowed to choose the right canidate for the job — but must vote a ticket. Also, not all races are on both tickets and some races are decided by the primary votes. So, a citizen must look at the ballots, decide which races are most important to him/her and then vote that ticket.
They say it is because the primary is paid for by the parties themselves. If this is so then maybe it is time for a change – and primaries should be general. All citizens should have a right to vote for the canidate they want, and should have a voice in all races – not just a select few.
It seems to be pretty much that way in most states I have been in. It seems especially onerous in states where one party seems to dominate and you are not affiliated with that one party.
Of course, at this point I’m praying that we wake up and come up with a single national primary. This hodge-podge we have now is unbelievable. And do we really want a presidential campaign that goes on two years!?!?