Reply #3: Thanks... The Electoral College bill by Maze is more scarey.... [View All]

[cascadiance]

I really wish we could apply it retroactively and help Donna clean things up here now. Aguire winning has helped some, but we need more than just him to get things moving the right ('er make that "left") way again...

For this article there really should be two threads (maybe even three since there are three different bills in committees that were considered). I'm thinking of starting a thread in the General Discussion (Politics) forum pointing back to this article to get others' attention that might not be interested in just local San Diego politics.

The one bill here we wanted passed (and what the article subject line dealt with) is what passed, but I've found nowhere else on the web anyone talking about Maze's bill to change California's winner-take-all electoral vote system (in conjunction with the three other big states - New York, Florida, and Texas) to become percentage-based electoral votes. That to me is scarey. Though it probably has little chance of passing the California legislature, the fact that the Republicans are even trying at this point makes one wonder what is going on in New York as well. They are obviously trying to get it passed in the California legislature first (and possibly New York next) with some sort of promise that Texas would follow, as well as Florida (which you and I know has probably been Democratic the last two elections, despite their successful efforts to make it count as a Republican state).

Even if all four of these states are reversed to percentage-based electoral votes, it would still reduce Democrat's clout in presidential elections. The winner-take-all system in the bigger populated states is probably the only thing that offsets the inherent unDemocratic way of giving smaller states greater per-capita representation in the electoral college than the larger states. If you take away the larger state's abillity to grab all of the states through winner take all, then the smaller states added votes will dictate greater power for the Republicans in coming elections.

I don't know what the master plan is, but I'd like to know what's also being proposed in the New York legislature now too to see what "coordinated" Delay-style tactics might be going on now. If we see Arny appoint someone like Maze for any state post, I wouldn't trust him with a ten foot (or longer) pole.