Voting is a cornerstone of our democracy. Every vote should matter. Yet this is not the case with the Electoral College!
Years ago there used to be about 12 states identified as battleground or swing states; states where either a Republican or Democratic presidential candidate could win. Unfortunately, in recent elections, the number of swing states decreased to eight, which essentially means that less than 18% of voters elected our next president.
As a result, presidential candidates spend about 50% of all campaign money and time in these few states. In addition, due to the attention and money spent, 65% of voters cast a ballot in battleground states, while in non-battleground ones only 50% did so.
Worse, for the upcoming 2020 election, there may only be five true battleground states left with Colorado not expected to be one.
This means that for presidential elections, a small minority of voters decide the outcome, while the majority of more than four out of five voters do not count.
When digesting these numbers, it is obvious that the Electoral College favors a few states over many. This is contrary to the democratic intent that everyone’s vote matters.
What worked in 1787 with four million citizens is outdated today!
Let’s get rid of the Electoral College.
Please support the Popular Vote where presidential candidates will again have to campaign in all 50 states and every vote counts equally.
Werner HeiberDurango
