Let's Abolish the Electoral College

Below is an e-mail I received from Congresswoman Grace Meng who responded to my e-mail to her about abolishing the Electoral College.  There is something very wrong when the candidate who has about 3 million more popular votes loses the election since we have an anachronistic Electoral College.

Of course, this would require a constitutional amendment.  Thus both houses of congress would have to pass it and then the president would have to sign it.  At that point, state legislatures in 75% of the states would have to approve it.  I doubt this will happen, but let's give it a try.

Dear Mr. Slutsky

      Thank you for contacting me to express your support for eliminating the Electoral College.

      The framers of the Constitution created the Electoral College as a compromise to protect the interests of both small and large states. I understand your frustrations that the Electoral College winner determines the outcome of the presidential election and not the winner of the popular vote.

      As you may know, H.J.Res. 19 would propose a constitutional amendment that would eliminate the Electoral College thereby determining the winner of the presidential election based on the majority vote. H.J.Res.19 is currently pending before the House Subcommittee on the Constitution and Civil Justice.  Should H.J.Res.19 or any other legislation that would restructure the Electoral College reach the House Floor for a vote, I will be sure to keep your views in mind.

      I appreciate you taking the time to share your views with me, and I hope that you will continue to do so in the future.

Finally. Someone Else is Bashing the Electoral College - Gail Collins

 

Gail Collins is an American journalist, op-ed columnist, and author, most recognized for her work with The New York Times.  As an online subscriber to the New York Times, I am allowed to give away 10 articles every month.  I thought my readers, especially Alan Seltzer, would enjoy this article where she bashes the Electoral College.  She concludes:

"Nothing is going to happen to fix the Electoral College. Can you imagine trying to get a change in the Constitution that enormous? It was a long haul just to pass an amendment to prohibit members of Congress from raising their own pay between elections."

It would take a vote of 2/3 in the House and Senate followed by approval by 3/4 of the state legislators to pass a constitutional amendment abolishing the Electoral College.

Abolish the Electoral College

Every time I think of Donald Trump I curse the electoral college that put him into office even though Hillary Clinton received 3 million more popular votes.  Every so often I hear of someone in Congress introducing a bill to abolish it, but apparently, the bill is killed in a committee.  Today, there was a good editorial by Jesse Wegman in the New York Times calling for its abolition.

Here is a quote from that editorial:

Before it vaulted him into the White House, Donald Trump saw how corrosive this feature was: “The Electoral College is a disaster for a democracy,” he tweeted on election night 2012, when he believed that his candidate, Mitt Romney, would defeat President Barack Obama in the popular vote and yet lose the election.)

Hopefully, this year Trump will lose decisively the popular vote and the electoral college.

The January 6th Hearings and the Electoral College

 

Last night at 8 PM I decided to watch the January 6th hearings instead of a sporting event.  The actions of that day were a disgrace, to say the least, and all who participated should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.  This includes the former president of the United States.  Hopefully, these hearings will prove criminal liability on his part and that he be sent to jail.

The cause of this tragedy and its aftermath is the Electoral College.  Since the results were close in several battleground states, Trump thought he could change the election results even though he lost the popular vote by 7 million.

I have called for the Electoral College to be abolished in journal posts in:

• March 2017
• July 2020
• January 2021

I am still disappointed that there has not even been a grassroots effort to eliminate this relic of our republic's early days.  This would be extremely difficult to achieve since an amendment may be proposed by a two-thirds vote of both Houses of Congress, or, if two-thirds of the States request one, by a convention called for that purpose. The amendment must then be ratified by three-fourths of the State legislatures or three-fourths of conventions called in each State for ratification.

I still say there should be some public discussion of this even if it is quite unlikely to succeed.

There was a Vote in Congress to Abolish the Electoral College in 1969

I have expressed my displeasure with the Electoral College in this journal and on X (formerly Twitter).  Should we have 1 election or 51 elections?  Why should a candidate with less popular votes win the election?  It would require a vote of 2/3 in the House and the Senate followed by ratification by 38 state legislature.  This would never happen in today's political climate. Until today, I was only aware of New York Times journalist Gail Collins speaking out against this dinosaur from our constitution.  I just wish that some Senators or Representatives would bash it.

I found out today from a History Channel website that in 1969 the House of Representatives by a wide margin voted to abolish it, but a filibuster in the Senate led by Southerners killed the bill.  Even if the Senate passed the resolution, 38 state legislatures must approve it.

I also found out about the book Let the People Pick the President: The Case for Abolishing the Electoral College written by Jesse Wegman, a member of the New York Times editorial board.  Back in 1968 80% of Americans felt the president should be elected by popular vote.  How many would want that today?

 

Still No Talk About Abolishing the Electoral College

I have written in this journal about my opinion that the electoral college be abolished in:

• March 2017
• July 2020

I still stand by the opinions that I expressed then.

In 2020 Joe Biden won the popular vote by 7 million. I can't believe that 74 million people voted for Donald Trump.  Biden's margin of victory was very small in several battleground states.  Thus Trump challenged the results in those states.  In 2000 the election was decided as George W. Bush won Florida by 537 votes.  Al Gore took the loss like a man.  Gore did have about 500,000 more popular votes than  Bush.

It would take a constitutional amendment to abolish the Electoral College.  It would take a 2/3 majority in the House and Senate followed by approval by 3/4 of the state legislatures.  Obviously, the Republicans would oppose this, but there should be at least some movement to abolish this dinosaur that was established in the early days of our republic.

 

Thoughts on Impeachment

I usually don't comment on politics, but here goes.  During a common criminal trial, the judge asks prospective jurors if they can be objective.  Jurors must hear both sides of the argument as to whether the accused is innocent or guilty and make a decision that must be unanimous.

Impeachment is synonymous with an indictment and does not remove the president from office.  The full House of Representatives votes on articles of impeachment.  A majority is needed to impeach the president.  The representatives will not be objective since all Democrats will vote for impeachment.  Since the Democrats have a majority, impeachment is likely.

After a president is impeached, he must stand trial in the Senate where a two-thirds majority is required for removal from office.  The Republicans have a 54-46 majority in the Senate.  Every Democrat plus 21 Republicans would have to vote to convict resulting in removal from office.  This is not going to happen.  Trumps's impeachment will be a historical footnote.

It is my opinion that the Electoral College should have been abolished years ago as it is a relic of the early days of our republic.  Hillary Clinton had 3 million more votes than Trump but lost the elections since Trump had an electoral majority as he won "battleground states" with small majorities.  A constitutional amendment is required to abolish the Electoral College.  It is a very difficult process described in this document.

Thinking about Past and Present Presidential Campaigns

The passing today of Senator George McGovern caused me to recall some of the presidential campaigns of the past.  Yes, the presidential campaign of McGovern vs. Nixon was the most polarizing one that I remember.  Differences of opinion about America’s involvement in the Vietnam War created a lot of bad blood.  The issues of Watergate and its cover-up were revealed after the election.  It seemed that Nixon wanted to derail the presidential campaign of Edmund Muskie who would have been a formidable opponent.

The first presidential campaign I can remember is the Kennedy-Nixon rivalry of 1960.  I worked for the Democratic Club on Saunders Street handing our flyers for JFK.  Tricky Dick came close to winning.  The course of American history would have changed had he been elected in 1960.

Back in 1976 when I lived in New Brunswick, NJ I gave out flyers supporting Jimmy Carter.  It seems amazing that he came from being an obscure former Governor of Georgia to become President.

Then in 2000 there was the Florida controversy that led to the election of George W. Bush over Al Gore.

The current campaign of Obama against Romney seems very dull to me.  It seems that almost everybody has his mind made up.  With the election based on the Electoral College rather than the popular vote the candidates are campaigning only in a handful of battleground states.  For that reason I am in favor of abolishing the Electoral College.  Back in 2000 Al Gore actually had more popular votes than George W. Bush.

Comments on Election Day (before counting the votes)

 

I heard reports all week about long lines at the polls during the Early Voting.  For that reason, I decided to wait until Election Day to cast my ballot at the local elementary school.  I was quite surprised to be able to just walk in and vote without any waiting.  I voted for Joe Biden and the entire Democratic ticket.  I feel that Donald Trump is the worst president in the history of this republic.  As early as January he did inform the public of the dangers of the coronavirus.  He said it was just sniffles and would be over by Easter.  Even now he downplays the seriousness of the recurrence of cases of COVID.  There are many other issues where he failed the citizens.  I am not a political person and don't want to spend time writing up his failures.

The counting of votes will be much different this time as so many votes were submitted by mail.  Obviously, if Trump loses he will argue that there were irregularities in the voting process.  I really hope that there will not be any civil unrest after the result is known.

I always curse the Electoral College when I see Trump.  Hillary Clinton in 2016 won the popular vote by 3 million votes but lost in the Electoral College.  I just don't understand why no serious effort was made to abolish it since it is a relic of the early days of our nation.

Thank Goodness it is Almost Over

In 48 hours I will sitting at my TV screen watching the election returns.  Will it be over by 11 PM or be a cliffhanger?  In any event I will be happy that it will be over as I have to vote for the lesser of the two evils.  I would like to comment that I feel that the electoral college should be abolished.  In 2000 Al Gore won the popular vote, but since he lost in the electoral college George W. Bush became president.  In the campaign the two candidates have visited the so called battleground states. I guess Trump has conceded NY State to Clinton so nobody has camapigned here.

Oy Vey!

Some Political Comments

I consider myself a non-political person so here goes:

• There were more people than usual at my polling place at PS 214 in Flushing.  I am glad to see that people are interested in participating in the electoral process.
• In my district, Democratic Congresswoman Grace Meng was re-elected with minimal opposition from the Green Party.  Likewise, Senator Kristen Gillibrand was re-elected in a landslide.
• The Democrats won control of the House of Representatives, but the Republicans retained control of the Senate.  A commentator on NBC News said that the Democrats won the popular vote while the Republicans won the Electoral College.  This was an interesting metaphorical comment.
• With a majority in the Senate, any presidential appointed should easily be confirmed.  It is a shame that so much voting on issues is done strictly on party lines.
• With a majority in the House, there is a temptation to start impeachment proceedings.  Likely, if this happened it would be a futile effort since even if the president was impeached, it would take a two-thirds vote in the Senate to remove him from office.
• The presidential campaign for 2020 starts today.  Several potential candidates will form exploratory committees and begin to raise funds.  My prediction is that Michael Bloomberg will be the Democratic nominee in 2020 as he can use his own money in his campaign. One issue is that he will be 78 years old in 2020.  We shall see.

Random Thoughts of the Day - December 18, 2024

• Oh those crazy dreams.  Last night I had a dream about doing the laundry that nobody enjoys doing.  It is bad enough that I have to do it twice a week, but why is my subconscious mind punishing me?
• I have written about abolishing the electoral college several times in this journal since 2017.  Today Governor Kathy Hochul stated the she is in favor of abolishing it.  It is just not going to happen.
• I am getting sick and tired of reading more speculative articles in reliable publications about trades and free agency signing.  I don't believe anything I read on those topics in Facebook postings.
• The Queens Bus Design report just came out.  To speed up buses many stops including the one at 28th Avenue and Union Street will be eliminated.  Thus I will have to walk a little further to get on a local bus.  The Q34 will be eliminated.  The good thing about this is that when bus stops for that route are eliminated, more parking spots for people in my neighborhood will be created.  There is a parking problem in my neighborhood, but since I have a garage in my Co-op, I don't have to worry about looking for a spot when I drive home.

 

Random Thoughts at the End of September

• Singers Mac Davis and Helen Reddy passed away the same day at the age of 78.  Both had big hits in the 1970s
• I really hope that Joe Biden wins the presidential election in a landslide.  Donald Trump is a pathological liar who never deserved to be president in the first place.  The Electoral College really stinks as someone who lost by 3 million votes wins an election.  He will wreak havoc if he loses by a small margin and perhaps will cause a constitutional crisis.
• I found through an online chat that there are no plans to reopen the New York Public Library Research Libraries.  It is understandable, but disappointing as there are so many print resources not available online.  I wish they could devise a plan so that researchers could order materials online and could access them in a reading room with a limited number of patrons and social distancing.  I have used many online library resources over the past 6 months.

 

How I Would Change the Government

 

I can't change things independently, but here is what I wish would happen.

Federal Government

My proposals will never happen since a constitutional amendment would be required.  A 2/3 vote in the House and Senate followed by approval by 3/4 of the state legislatures would be needed.

• Abolish the electoral college and the presidential election be decided by popular vote
• The term for the House of Representatives be expanded to four years with the election held in even-numbered years when there is no presidential election.
• Limit Senators to two six-year terms and Representatives to three four-year terms.
• All Supreme Court justices can be appointed to one ten-year term that may not be renewed.

New York State Government

• There should be term limits for the Governor, State Senate, State Assembly, Attorney General, and Comptroller.

New York City Government

• Abolish the office of Public Advocate.  I need to see what the person in this position accomplishes.  Most previous incumbents have used this as a stepping stone to a higher office.

Count Me In by Gary Lewis and The Playboys - Oldie of the Day

 

This is a very strange video for a "good time" oldie.  I think counting is on everyone's mind today.  The count of the votes in the presidential election must be thorough and accurate to make sure the right candidate wins.  Like in 2016, this would not be a problem if the candidate with the highest popular vote wins the election.  Joe Biden has more than 2 million popular votes but does not yet have the required 270 votes in the Electoral College to become the next president.  I sense that this will drag on, but a president must be inaugurated on January 20, 2021.

Finally, Somebody Agrees with me on Abolishing the Electoral College

 

Please view this video narrated by former Secretary of Labor Robert Reich.  Of course, a constitutional amendment to abolish it would require a vote of 2/3 of the House and Senate followed by 3/4 of the state legislatures to approve.  That is not going to happen.  He discusses the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact.  However, that would face legal challenges.

Random Thought of the Day

• I don't like to read speculative articles by sports journalists.  The playoffs and World Series are not yet over, and they are speculating on free-agency signings.  As soon as the Yankees are eliminated, they will speculate on whether Aaron Boone or Brian Cashman will be fired.
• I just can't even think of basketball or hockey until the World Series is over.  At that point, I'll have to think about what tickets I should buy.  I looked at the Ranger's schedule and noted that tickets cost at least $167.
• I haven't been to a Broadway show in years.  I'll have to check the listings and decide which ones to see.
• The response for the Oldies Meet and Greet is low.  It is still three weeks away and often people don't want to commit until a few days before.  I suspect that many women are afraid to travel to Manhattan on public transportation.
• It is terrible that too many crazy people have access to knives and guns.  If I had my way I would repeal or modify the Second Amendment to the constitution.  That will never happen.  Likewise, the Electoral College will not be abolished.