LETTERS: Democracy: one person one vote
I seek change. I seek a great change in this great republic. In fact, what I look to do is put an end to the republic.
That is probably the most inappropriate and unpatriotic statement ever made, but it is time. It is time to become something we have claimed to be for years. It is time to turn this country into a democracy.
At this juncture in our nation’s life, we are still using the same archaic system for electing presidents that we have used for centuries. Citizens vote locally for a candidate of their choice, and after their votes are tallied, a select group of individuals tally a vote in the Electoral College that decides who the next president will be.
It made sense back in the late 1700’s, but then again, so did counting an entire ethnic population as only 3/5 a person.
The problem back then was communication. Getting word from the original 13 states to the capital took quite a lot of time. Google Maps states that it would take 77 hours to bike from Atlanta to Philadelphia. Biking was used as a close approximation of horseback, the way to travel back then.
Therefore, it would take over three days just to get a letter, package, or election results to the original capitol. This scenario also requires swapping of horses and riders to make sure the package reaches its destination without delay.
That is no longer the case, by any means.
A package sitting in the back of a car can make it to Washington D.C. in less than 11 hours; a letter on a plane will be there in just over an hour. Electronically, that same letter will be there in the time it takes the pilot or driver to buckle their seat belt.
News networks run election results as soon as they are reported, seems safe to say the government could do the same, especially with electronic voting machines becoming the norm at most voting stations.
But what does this have to do with the death of the Republic? Simple. It allows for the removal of the middle man. On November 6th, when you submit your vote why not make sure it counts. One vote equals one vote and the candidate with the most votes win.
Brilliant idea, isn’t it? Tear down the map of red states and blue states. Sadly, the maps dividing the states into the two categories are hindrances to getting people do their “civil duty.”
Look at Texas on any map of the electoral vote, it is deep red. The Texan electoral delegates knew what party they were voting for before knowing they were being selected as delegates.
Votes for Obama in the state of Texas are pebbles being throwing against the side of a three ton elephant. In 2008, over 3.5 million Texan voters picked Obama. That’s 3.5 million silenced voices. 3.5 million people who spent their morning picking the man they wanted, only to be a statistic that night.
Pull the Electoral College and open up the vote to pure populous and change the face of the nation. Force a candidate to reach out to all Americans, and watch them spin through every city. Candidates will be forced to give so many speeches, shake so many hands, kiss so many babies that they would come out battle tested and ready.
No more money dedicated solely to advertising in “swing states” either. John Smith of Cleveland, OH is now as equally important to both parties as his cousin James Smith of Cleveland, TX.
One person, one voice, one vote, one step towards democracy. It is a radical concept to be sure, but the founding fathers would have thought the same of flying machines and boxes full of moving pictures.
William Humbird
UHCL Communication Major
