For voters’ sake, get rid of Electoral College

A few years ago I got second for Democratic Party chairman of Tarrant County.

I’m telling you this so you’ll know I’m not a smuck. Well, I am a smuck, but

that’s not the point.

As I write this letter, it is about five weeks away

from the election for President, and you wouldn’t know it from where I live.

I’ve not seen one TV commercial, one radio commercial or billboard, or

newspaper ad, or campaign sign in anyone’s yard. None. As far as I can tell, it

looks like just any other year. No one is talking about any of the races, let

alone the race for President.

Now here is where I’m supposed to lecture you

with my “apathetic voter” speech. Well, I’m not going to do that. I’m going to

put the blame on those who have caused this: Congress and the news

media.

Congress has caused this by not getting rid of the electoral vote,

and the news media has caused this by not putting pressure on Congress to get

rid of the electoral vote.

Since I am in Republican territory, both parties

have ignored Texas. Since Texas is the home of Governor George W. Bush, he

should win here. Thus, the Democrats haven’t spent any time or money in Texas

and the Republicans haven’t had to either.

From what I can tell, both

parties have ignored 42 of the other 50 states as well. They are spending all

their time in only eight states. A few thousand people will be deciding who

will govern over a few million people in about a month’s time. All because the

winner of a state gets all of its electoral votes.

And because the winner

gets all of the electoral votes of that state, many Democrats in Texas will not

be turning out on election day. Why? Because they know their vote will not

count. The race for President is the Super Bowl or World Series of elections.

It’s the race for President that stirs people up and causes them to register to

vote and join political parties. And all that will not be happening in Texas or

41 other states this year because people know their vote will not count in the

race they care about.

Democratic candidates running for smaller offices

will lose here in Texas and in other Republican states, giving Republicans a

stronger hold on these states.

The same thing will happen to Republicans

running for smaller offices in Tennessee and other so-called Democratic states.

All because of an outdated law that should have been done away with a hundred

years ago.

Forty-nine percent of the votes in every state will not count on

election day, because whether a state is Democratic or Republican, at least 45

percent of the population of that state belongs to the other party.

Right

now it looks like only 28 percent of all registered voters across the country

will turn out this year. Wow. That just plain sucks. It’s not the people’s

fault. I don’t care how many experts you get to say it is. Why vote if your

vote will not count? And 49 percent of the vote in every state of the union

will not count as long as the Electoral College is in place.

It is time the

local and national press started putting pressure on Congress to repeal the

Electoral College. If the press were to join forces, this would be the last

election in which a voter would know his vote didn’t count. Who knows? People

might start to give a damn about things again.

The news media of this

country should stand up and let the people know what they stand for. Are they

the Fourth Estate and protectors of the people, or are they filler pages

between ads for used cars and toothpaste?

I refuse to say I can’t see a

problem. A handful of undecided voters in eight states shouldn’t have as much

power as this. Every state’s votes should count. Every voter’s vote in every

state should count. The candidates should have to beg voters in Hawai’i and

Alaska as well as Florida and California. And that will never happen until

Congress repeals the Electoral College. And Congress will never ever repeal the

Electoral College until the news media puts pressure on them to do so.

RON

TAYLOR

Texas