Feinstein: Abolish Electoral College [Fineswine calls it 'Reform'']

San Francisco Examiner ^ | December 23, 2004 | By Adriel Hampton

[johnny7]

Moderate Dem wants Senate to vote on reform.

Democratic U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein is lending her moderate voice to the fight to abolish the Electoral College, calling it an "anachronism" unsuited to the 21st century and promising to introduce legislation to provide for a popular election of the President and Vice President. "We need to have a serious, comprehensive debate on reforming the Electoral College," Feinstein said. "My goal is simply to allow the popular will of the American people to be expressed every four years when we elect our President."

Rob Richie, director of the Maryland-based Center for Voting and Democracy, applauded Feinstein's commitment to the issue, saying the Electoral College's winner-take-all system and partisan dominance in most states may lead to fierce competition in as few as five in 2008. "Most Americans never saw a presidential TV ad in their local market," Richie said. "In Toledo, Ohio, there were 1,400 or more. Some states get all the attention, others get none."

The last Senate vote on Electoral College reform was a quarter century ago, but with two back-to-back narrowly decided presidential contests, reform cries have again reached a peak. After President Bush won the 2000 election without the popular vote -- only the fourth such outcome ever -- Sen. John Kerry in November came only thousands of votes short of an Electoral College win, despite losing the popular vote by more than 3 million votes. San Francisco Republican Party chair Mike DeNunzio said his concern with Feinstein's proposal is that candidates would lose focus on states like Nevada or Iowa, but he agreed the issue deserves serious study. "They should be calling for a commission to rethink this as we go into the 21st century," DeNunzio said. "Some mending has to take place." An Electoral College reform proposal by Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. is pending in the House of Representatives, and, unlike Feinstein's plan, it would require a runoff if one candidate did not achieve more than 50 percent of the vote.

Attempts to Abolish

Since its inception as Article II, Section I of the U.S. Constitution, there have been more than 700 attempts to abolish or amend the Electoral College system. It was modified by the 12th and 23rd Amendments.

• In 1950, an amendment to make the electoral vote proportional to the popular vote passed in the Senate, but died in the House of Representatives.

• In 1969, a proposal to shift to a direct popular election with a 40 percent threshold or a runoff passed the House, but failed in the Senate due to a filibuster.

• In 1979, a proposal to abolish the college failed in the Senate.

-- Source: Center for Voting and Democracy

[Murtyo]

One of the great benefits, one that I haven't ever seen mentioned, of the EC is that it helps limit the effect of corruption to a state. For example if a large state like NY or CA pumps up the vote by 1m voters in a Direct vote - it ends up with more influence in the whole nation, however with the Electoral College no matter how a state messes with the voting they only get so many votes - their Electoral votes.

[btcusn]

What's with calling Feinstein "moderate". I always thought she was pretty far left.


Left hell, she's a commie!! At least a socialist.
Jack

[Tacos]

If she thinks we should get rid of the Electoral College, then why not get rid of another body that gives small states a voice...that's right, Senator Feinstein, the United States Senate.

[btcusn]

I believe Feinstein is a Senator because she is too stupid to make a good housewife.


Most Senators fit that description, a good housewife can balance the family budget. Not to mention the host of other duties a housewife deals with every day.

Jack

[hermgem]

Most Americans never saw a Presidential TV ad in their market, or as a matter of fact in their big daily papers informs us this writer.
Hear, hear one of the hurts of big media is lack of ad revenue. But how can you expect balanced populations if day in day out the Mainstream Liberal Big City Media keeps spreading liberal dogmas.
Programed people no longer react to advertising since they already are enlightened and know it all.
That's why the liberal's media is hurting in the pocketbooks.
Changing the Constitution would change such $$$ starvation, especially urgent in view of declining reader/viewership of mainstream's media.

[Capt. Tom]

A blast from the past. - tom

By Christine Hall CNS Staff Writer November 14, 2000

(CNSNews.com) - New York's Senator-elect, Hillary Clinton, is among those calling for a constitutional amendment abolishing the Electoral College system for selecting the President.

[MissouriConservative]

First things first. Feinstein is about as moderate as Jerry Brown is moderate.

Next, instead of trying to abolish the Electoral College, maybe Feinstein should work towards abolishing the 17th Amendment to the US Constitution? In that one, someone decided that the way Senators were elected was wrong and decided to let "the people" directly elect them. Look at what that has given to us.....Senators who stay forever, are leashed to the money that got them there, and care nothing those that live outside of the largest cities in their states. Yeah, that amendment worked out real well huh?

Our founding father's wisdom exceeded that of today's Senators by a country mile. Feinstein needs to shut the he!! up and stick with what she knows best.....nothing.

What she is really angling for is giving California more say in who is President, after all, her states 55 electoral votes don't seem to matter that much anymore (given the size of the Red States totals). With the Electoral College gone, California could go a long way to having more say in who is President. Of course, Kerry would still not have been elected under Feinstein's plan....he lost the popular vote by...what?....more than 3 or 4 million?

Feinstein is an a**

[rightwingcrazy]

I guess the concept could be extended so that each state could have its electors get assigned on a County-by-County basis. That would have to be approved by the individual states, though. Good luck getting that approved in California, New York, Illinois, etc.

[sasportas]

I note that some, even some posters here, seem to think she is not really all that much of a leftist. She, like the hildabeast, thinks she is fooling everybody by positioning themselves moderate on some issues.

Baloney, both Feinstein and hildabeast are opposed to the electoral college. Their coming out against the electoral college ends all debate. No one but an out and out communist would be against it.

[rcocean]

Wonder why the SF Chron is always giving newspace to these constitutional amendments (like foreign born Presidents) which have absolutely no chance of passing and aren't desired by more than a small minority?

Hey, SF Chron, what about an article on how to reform system, or fix Social security? What does DiFi think about these issues?

[Dont_Tread_On_Me_888]

Dianne Feinstein is lending her moderate voice

"Moderate" voice????????

This is why we must never have mob rule in the United States with idiots like this who label Marxists "moderates".

[vpintheak]

"My goal is simply to allow the popular will of the American people to be expressed every four years when we elect our President." No your goal is the destruction our our Republic, wench. Plain and simple. She is moderate? What a joke.

[t_skoz]

We should undo the madness of direct election of Senators. God help us!!!

[pepperdog]

Feinstein moderate? Since when? Forget it Dianne, smart men set up the system we have now, they knew you'd be along some day. The libs think the Red states are truly ignorant, since they think we'd like to be governed by a few mega blue cities.