Black People Politics : Don’t Forget About the Electoral College

[Clyde C Coger Jr]

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Don’t Forget About the Electoral College
America’s future depends on it

Ben Chapman
I’m a student in nutrition and environmental sustainability. My goal is to improve the world through public policy. I generally write on related topics.
Aug 23

... But remember that outrage we felt? Remember how furious we were when we saw the popular vote results roll in? It hurt when our opponent won, yes, but it hurt even more to be cheated out of what was rightfully ours ...

https://extranewsfeed.com/dont-forget-about-the-electoral-college-c9d11f4f992c


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[Clyde C Coger Jr]

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The Electoral College Is a National Security Threat
The Founding Fathers never anticipated the rise of Facebook and fake news
By MATTHEW OLSEN and BENJAMIN HAAS

... Because of the “transient existence” and dispersed makeup of the electors, he argued, hostile countries would find it too expensive and time-consuming to inject “sinister bias” into the process of choosing a president. At the time, the new American leaders feared meddling from Great Britain, their former colonial master, or perhaps from other powers such as France, and they designed a system to minimize the prospect that Europe’s aging monarchies could seize control of their young democracy ...

http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2017/09/20/electoral-college-threat-national-security-215626

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[Clyde C Coger Jr]

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READ NEXT: Electoral College is ‘vestige’ of slavery, say some Constitutional scholars


The Racial History of the Electoral College — and why efforts to change it have Stalled
Nation

... Slaves were the economic heart and pulse of the country and the Northern states, even if they did not engage in slavery, benefited from their labor. So even though slaves were unable to vote, the Convention decided that slaves should be counted as three-fifths of a white person for the purposes of representation in Congress ...

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/the-racial-history-of-the-electoral-college-and-why-efforts-to-change-it-have-stalled

Left: Sen. Vernon Sykes and Rep. Emilia Sykes. Photo by Kamala Kelkar

 

[Clyde C Coger Jr]

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Connecticut lawmakers pass measure to give electoral votes to presidential candidate who wins popular vote
BY JACQUELINE THOMSEN


The Connecticut state House passed a measure Thursday that would give the state’s electoral votes to the presidential candidate who won the popular vote, if enough states promise to do the same.

The bill would have the state join an interstate compact that grants participating states’ votes to candidates who win the popular vote, the Hartford Courant reported ...

http://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/385123-connecticut-lawmakers-pass-measure-to-give-electoral-votes-to

 

[Clyde C Coger Jr]

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Not so sure this is a good idea (except the three-fifths language should be changed). Electors should be empowered to understand their right not to go with the popular vote when a risk to democracy is at stake, like the situation we find ourselves in now with Trump.


Good-Bye Electoral College? Popular Vote Movement Gaining Steam
It’s not just Democrats that see the virtue in reforming presidential elections


The reform is based on states joining an interstate compact, a legally binding vehicle where states make agreements among themselves despite a national federal government. In this case, states, which the U.S. Constitution empowers to oversee its Electoral College process, agree to award their presidential votes to the national popular vote winner; as of early 2019, the project was two-thirds of the way toward reaching the threshold needed for a 270-vote Electoral College majority, but more states are poised to join.

https://www.commondreams.org/views/2019/03/14/good-bye-electoral-college-popular-vote-movement-gaining-steam

by
Steven Rosenfeld