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Shape of politics
Last week I wrote about the 4:1 imbalance of Electoral College voting power between the citizens of big and small states. Now, Electoral-vote.com has a nifty new cartogram (a map distorted by some variable) showing the relative electoral votes of each state. The colors represent current poll results in the presidential race and are updated daily. Click on the picture for the full-size view.
So now we have two choices for making presidential elections fair in this country: (1) Reform the Electoral College. (2) Find a way to push and stretch the tectonic plates under the North American continent to physically rearrange the landmass to the shape above. Keep in mind that the first option is politically difficult.
[Update: Actually, I just realized that option 2 won’t change the voting power. I hope no one has started already.]
September 14, 2004 | Permalink
Comments
I agree we should reform, or better yet do away with the electoral college altogether, but to me this map says nothing important. After all, who cares if Wyoming is shrunken down to the size of DC if it has a similar number of people in it? Geographical size really shouldn't matter in a democracy, it's the population, baby!
Posted by: Levi | Sep 15, 2004 9:01:03 AM
Phil,
I'm not sure I understand what kind of reform to the Electoral College could make it any better than it is. The idea behind it is to skew the numbers of the smaller states to give them a leg up on their larger, more populated neighbors.
About the only reform I could see as worthwhile is the removing of the "winner takes all" system. Put the two Senate votes as statewide and determine who gets the House votes based on the vote in each of the districts. Still, as long as the politicians have the ability to redraw districts on a whim (yes, I am being over-dramatic) - a la Texas and the redistricting struggle that took place last year - this system will still have the ability to be manipulated.
Posted by: | Sep 15, 2004 10:51:28 AM
The purpose of the electoral college is so that smaller states have a say in selecting the President.
Without it, only states with large urban ares would have a say... and then only the people in the urban areas would.
The end result of doing away with winner-takes-all or the electoral college would be "disenfranchise" nearly everyone outside the big cities in MI, NY, NJ, CA, FL, and IL.
The method we have now is brilliant, it ensures that the entire country is represented.
Posted by: Adam | Sep 15, 2004 11:16:33 AM
I haven't really made up my mind about the Electoral College. It does lead to a gross imbalance between the voting power of Wyomingians and Texans, and this doesn't seem "fair". On the other hand, it's pretty much working as intended and we shouldn't mess around with the Constitution very lightly.
I do support geologically stretching the highly populated states, because that would make my Cambridge backyard large enough to hold a proper BBQ.
Posted by: Phil Libin | Sep 15, 2004 3:26:53 PM
MAKE A DIFFERENCE!!
REGISTER TO VOTE and/or get an ABSENTEE BALLOT today. It’s easy; it’s online.
Voter Registration deadlines, register to vote, and Absentee Ballots online:
http://www.rockthevote.com/rtv_primaries.php
Absentee Ballot Deadlines by state:
http://www.overseasvote.com/faq/state/
Please e-mail this information to all of your friends! AND VOTE FOR KERRY!!!!
Your future depends on it!
Posted by: Make A. Difference | Oct 20, 2004 2:15:55 AM
Now I'm doubly glad I set up a permanent link from my blog to yours (not just a blogroll).
Bush must not win!
It doesn't take a lot of reading to realize just what kind of damage this man and his cronies have done to this country, both at home and abroad. I'm about 50 pages into Michael Moore's Will they Ever Trust us Again?. The pathos of letters ot Michale from troops in country is incredible, especially when you compare it with the lame excuses of the Bush Regime chicken-hawks.
All but the Rush Limbauth wing of the family (even the nominal Republicans) are committed to electing Kerry.
I was supposed to be in NV this weekend, working the campaign, but my wife was hospitalized, and I've been taking care of the kids and visiting with her. SO SOMEBODY ELSE HAS GOT TO GO IN MY PLACE AND DO THIS WORK:
There are buses leaving from LA, and either cheap room rates, or the chance to be put up for free with Las Vegas Democrats. Contact Scott Haas if you're interested at lasvegas4Kerry@aol.com.
Elderbear
Fighting creeping fascism (Bushism) one step at a time.
Posted by: Elderbear | Oct 25, 2004 5:40:18 AM
Elderbear,
I hope your wife recovers quickly. Thanks for the kind words about me on your blog.
For the record, I have not taken a public position on the presidential election. I would have deleted the "make a difference" comment as spam, but decided to leave it as it was posted to a (somewhat) political post and didn't have anything offensive in it. I would have left a similar pro-Bush comment up as well.
Even though i made up my mind about who i'll be voting for a long time ago (you can try to guess: on the one hand I live in Cambridge, MA; on the other, I'm the president of a tech company with significant federal and DoD business), I do not literally think that the world will end if either candidate is elected. I just hope the election is over by November 3rd.
Posted by: Phil Libin | Oct 25, 2004 12:04:42 PM
I'm with you on the November 3rd conclusion. I can't imagine living with multiple Floridas. As I my wife & I have discussed on multiple occasions, we find it discomforting to have an election where a candidate like Kerry appeals to us.
I am employee #2 at a defense/DoD contractor, but we're involved in (mostly) pure research. The war in Iraq has devastated military research funding, so no matter who wins, we're still left with pursuing new funding sources.
And no, if the wrong candidate wins, it's not the end of the world. There's only one political beast. It's just that one party nibbles on you and the other one dumps on you.
So, after all my Pro-Kerry/Anti-Bush rhetoric, I have voted Green, given that California seems unlike to swing into the Bush camp. My extra vote for the Green Party will be more meaningful than an extra Kerry vote.
Elderbear
Fighting creeping fascism one HTML tag at a time.
Posted by: Elderbear | Nov 2, 2004 2:11:11 PM
Thanks cool
Posted by: Brooke | Sep 17, 2007 4:37:27 PM
Or you know, we could come to grips with the fact that this country was designed as a republic, and in a method that would make sure that the small states actually had a say in affairs of this nation so that California and New York don't decide what's best for the rest of us just based on the fact that they have so many residents. People in Los Angeles and New York do not know what is best for Arkansas and Wyoming, and should not have the power to dictate the president of ALL the United States based on the fact that they are becoming sprawling masses of city.
For these reasons the small states have a little extra say, both in the Senate and Electoral college. It was designed that way.
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