More Options
We hear all too often that voters feel they must decide between the “lesser of two evils”.  In part, that is due to the strategic thinking that must be employed in the Electoral system.  It is also inherant in the process of selecting a vice presidential candidate.

When a presidential candidate is looking for a running mate, few considerations will impact the number of feasible choices as much as geography.  Vice Presidential candidates today are picked based on what they bring to the ticket regionally – they come to the ticket assuming they will carry their home state and possibly a few around it. For example North Carolinian John Edwards was selected to be John Kerry's running mate in 2004 in large part because John Kerry wanted to increase his competitiveness in the South, a region that had been swept by George W. Bush four years earlier.  With direct election, the home state advantage will not play a strong role, opening up the option of selecting the best candidate regardless of geographic location. 

Vague Values

Electoral Replacements

Electoral Tie

Favorite Son Effect

A Few States Wins


Constitutional Residence

State Size

Special Interests

Power of State Legislatures

Unlucky Luck

Ignoring Your Vote

 
Electoral College Table of Contents


 
August 12th 2007
States Try to Alter How Presidents Are Elected
New York Times

NY Times article on the attempt by California and North Carolina to award their Electoral College votes by congressional district. It draws on FairVote's report on the issue to outline the flaws of this method.

August 9th 2007
Fuzzy Math: Wrong Way Reforms for Allocating Electoral College Votes

August 7th 2007
A Red Play for the Golden State
Newsweek

Newsweek columnist Jonathan Alter explains how the proposal to award California's and North Carolina's electoral votes by congressional district are motivated by short-term political gain.

August 6th 2007
GOP eyes California's electoral pie
Los Angeles Times

The author explains why Republicans want California's electoral votes distributed by congressional districts. In a safely Democratic state, such a move will add an additional score votes to the Republicans' tally - the equivalent of winning Ohio.

August 2nd 2007
Votescam
The New Yorker

FairVote board member Hendrik Hertzberg writes on the folly of the statewide and national implications of the congressional district electoral vote scheme.

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