Time to Scrap the Electoral College?By Robert Richie
Published March 16th 2006 in New York Times
To the Editor:
The antidemocratic features of the Electoral College have become particularly pronounced for young people and racial minorities.
Our new report, "Presidential Election Inequality," shows how the number of African-Americans in a classic "swing voter" role has dropped from nearly three in four in 1976 to just one in six in 2004, while a white person is more than twice as likely to live in a battleground state than an Asian-American.
The Electoral College has also established patterns of inequality in voter turnout that are likely to plague us for decades.
Voter turnout among eligible voters under 30 was fully 17 percent higher in battleground states than in the rest of the country. Expect that disparity only to increase in 2008 if we maintain the current system.
It's time for a change, and sooner rather than later.
The antidemocratic features of the Electoral College have become particularly pronounced for young people and racial minorities.
Our new report, "Presidential Election Inequality," shows how the number of African-Americans in a classic "swing voter" role has dropped from nearly three in four in 1976 to just one in six in 2004, while a white person is more than twice as likely to live in a battleground state than an Asian-American.
The Electoral College has also established patterns of inequality in voter turnout that are likely to plague us for decades.
Voter turnout among eligible voters under 30 was fully 17 percent higher in battleground states than in the rest of the country. Expect that disparity only to increase in 2008 if we maintain the current system.
It's time for a change, and sooner rather than later.
Election Day '09 was a roller-coaster for election reformers. Instant runoff voting had a great night in Minnesota, where St. Paul voters chose to implement IRV for its city elections, and Minneapolis voters used IRV for the first time—with local media touting it as a big success. As the Star-Tribune noted in endorsing IRV for St. Paul, Tuesday’s elections give the Twin Cities a chance to show the whole state of Minnesota the benefits of adopting IRV. There were disappointments in Lowell and Pierce County too, but high-profile multi-candidate races in New Jersey and New York keep policymakers focused on ways to reform elections; the Baltimore Sun and Miami Herald were among many newspapers publishing commentary from FairVote board member and former presidential candidate John Anderson on how IRV can mitigate the problems of plurality elections.