From the time I learned about the Electoral College as a child, I never liked the system. The full inequity of the Electoral College came home to me in my first Presidential election in 1972. Democratic candidate George McGovern, who I voted for, won just one state, my home state of Massachusetts. With 37.5% of the vote McGovern won 3% of the Electoral College votes. My first election brought home the message that our electoral system was designed to distort outcomes, exclude minority views from representation and waste votes.
The Electoral College was designed to skew Presidential elections in favor of wealthy slavers in the South. In 1787 James Madison, a third generation slaver, built multiple slaver advantages into the new Constitution. One of the most enduring has been the Electoral College. There have been over 700 attempts to abolish the Electoral College. As a direct result of Madison's design, 10 of the first 12 Presidents owned slaves. 4 of the first 5 Presidents were Virginia slavers.
Two of our past four Presidents have "won" their Presidencial elections despite losing the popular vote. The term given to these elections is a "False Majority Government".
Our values have changed since the ruling class designed government for their era's form of predatory capitalism, self enrichment through slave labor. Their value system was realized through institutionalized electoral systems and government designed to concentrate power and exclude most people from the decision making process. By design, this leaves most people outside, unrepresented at the table. Proportional Representation takes the oposite approach. Group decision making is better than concentrated, authoritarian decision making, Proportional Representation facilitates and disperses decision making and includes nearly everyone.
On the other side of the pond, Denmarkâs threshold for representation is 2%. Our threshold is 30% just to get on the ballot in many state caucus systems. Denmark has 10 parties represented in their Folketing. We have only two choices. The Electoral College limits our choices, concentrates power in two parties and further concentrates power in a small number of swing states.
We could do nothing, continue using an archaic system from 1787 designed to skew elections, concentrate power, exclude people, have severely constrained, unaccountable choices from two parties who don't represent most people in the country. The Cartel does a better job representing plutocrats and predatory corporations. Or, we could decide to dump the slavers' value system and adopt Proportional Representation, starting in local Home Rule communities. Something to chew on.
Please lobby your state representatives to support the National Popular Vote.
The Electoral College: Rooted in Slavery
- Jesse Kumin
Check out the discussion and news feed on Best Democracy on Facebook.
