Electoral College Dissatisfaction Goes Mainstream

by Stuart Shapiro

I’ve been posting about the undemocratic nature of the electoral college for a while (here and here).  Yesterday, Adam Liptak wrote about these problems in the New York Times.

In the razor-thin 1960 presidential election, John F. Kennedy campaigned in 49 states. Richard M. Nixon visited all 50.

The current contest is just as close and intense, but the candidates have campaigned in only 10 states since the political conventions. There are towns in Ohio that have received more attention than the entire West Coast.

The shrinking electoral battleground has altered the nature of American self-governance. There is evidence that the current system is depressing turnout, distorting policy, weakening accountability and effectively disenfranchising the vast majority of Americans.

The simple fact of the matter is that my vote does not count as much as that of someone in Ohio.  And this would be a constitutional amendment that would have a chance since at least 3/4 of the states are similarly disenfranchised.

By: Stuart Shapiro

Stuart is a professor and the Director of the Public Policy
program at the Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy at Rutgers
University. He teaches economics and cost-benefit analysis and studies
regulation in the United States at both the federal and state levels.
Prior to coming to Rutgers, Stuart worked for five years at the Office
of Management and Budget in Washington under Presidents Clinton and
George W. Bush.