Electoral failure
I will cast my vote in November, as I always try to do. However, it appears that Donald Trump has already won the presidential election here in Kansas. In fact, it appears in multiple states around the country that the winner has already been chosen.
It seems much less like a national election coming up than a “battleground state” election. George W. Bush and Donald Trump both lost the popular vote but still won because of the electoral-college process.
I know, griping about the electoral college is nothing new, but I’m bringing it up again. Voters want to believe their votes count — that they make a difference. The electoral college chips away at that belief. It essentially signals to people that larger forces are in play and that, however they choose to vote, the electoral college will have its way.
If the electoral college were functioning in a beneficial way, its results would reflect the popular vote, and that hasn’t happened. Let’s get rid of it. Whatever theoretical purpose it was supposed to serve has long expired. Our fragile democracy needs all the direct representation we can muster.