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Feinstein: Abolish Electoral College [Fineswine calls it 'Reform'']
San Francisco Examiner ^ | December 23, 2004 | By Adriel Hampton

Posted on 12/23/2004 10:46:30 AM PST by 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


TOPICS: Constitution/Conservatism; News/Current Events; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: electoralcollege
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God bless the Electoral College... mob rule would have given us Algore.
1 posted on 12/23/2004 10:46:31 AM PST by johnny7
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To: johnny7


It would never pass

You'd have to get, what is it, 2/3rds of the states to ratify it ?


2 posted on 12/23/2004 10:47:37 AM PST by LauraleeBraswell (Support our troops.........)
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To: johnny7

Not gonna happen, Feinstein.


3 posted on 12/23/2004 10:48:34 AM PST by writer33 (The U.S. Constitution defines a conservative.)
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To: johnny7

She wouldn't be doing this if Ohio had been a bit closer in the last election.


4 posted on 12/23/2004 10:49:05 AM PST by Pearls Before Swine
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To: johnny7
Not gonna happen, Diane.

Wouldn't be prudent.

5 posted on 12/23/2004 10:49:39 AM PST by don-o (Stop Freeploading. Do the right thing and become a Monthly Donor.)
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To: johnny7
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.

Idiots can't see past 2000. Without the EC this last election is a blowout. W got nearly 4 million more votes than the French looking has been.

6 posted on 12/23/2004 10:50:01 AM PST by pgkdan
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To: johnny7

when they can't win by the rules then they want to change the rules...LMAO

I hope Condi Rice comes back in '06 to run against Feinstein...


7 posted on 12/23/2004 10:50:18 AM PST by kellynla (U.S.M.C. 1st Battalion,5th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Div. Viet Nam 69&70 Semper Fi)
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To: LauraleeBraswell

3/4, I believe. What's with calling Feinstein "moderate". I always thought she was pretty far left.


8 posted on 12/23/2004 10:50:39 AM PST by Still Thinking (Disregard the law of unintended consequences at your own risk.)
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To: LauraleeBraswell

It's 3/4 not 2/3 of States needed to ratify.


9 posted on 12/23/2004 10:51:10 AM PST by Procyon
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To: LauraleeBraswell

It's 3/4 not 2/3 of States needed to ratify.


10 posted on 12/23/2004 10:51:32 AM PST by Procyon
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To: johnny7

If they ever do this it will be a far different America. One I suspect that even the Democrats will not like much.


11 posted on 12/23/2004 10:51:37 AM PST by Arkinsaw
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To: johnny7
"My goal is simply to allow the popular will of the American people to be expressed every four years when we elect our President."

Crazy she-devil. The Electoral College is the glue that holds this chaos together. Without it the treasury of the people would be raped to buy elections at an even greater rate than it is now - which would lead to our ruin.

Not to worry, the states with low populations would never trade in the influence that the EC presently gives them. It would never get ratified.
12 posted on 12/23/2004 10:51:45 AM PST by Jaysun (DEMOCRATS: "We need to be more effective at fooling people.")
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To: johnny7
First line: "Moderate dem Feinstein..." Uh, one of the most radical lefties/outright socialists in the whole body. SF Examiner, figures. MSM, this is why you have no credibility.
13 posted on 12/23/2004 10:52:15 AM PST by coloradan (Hence, etc.)
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To: johnny7

Without the Electoral College, lower population states would find themselves ignored election after election. Eventually, they'd wise up and seek secession. There's wisdom behind its creation.


14 posted on 12/23/2004 10:52:35 AM PST by rightwingcrazy
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To: Still Thinking

In the paper's eyes she is moderate. In the rest of America's eyes she is so far left that if she was playing right field she's be standing on teh tird base line.


15 posted on 12/23/2004 10:53:25 AM PST by Andyman
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To: LauraleeBraswell

That's right. It will take a Constitutional Amendment and the Red states won't support it. It may get some supprot in the population centers like NY and New England and CA and the rest of the west coast but the rest of the country will never support it.


16 posted on 12/23/2004 10:54:29 AM PST by pgkdan
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To: johnny7

Oh yeah, I'm going to go with the sage and all-knowing Feinstein over the Founding Fathers. The thing is, the Dems have missed the boat on this any - the population center of the country is moving south and west, forsaking the cities of the northeast.


17 posted on 12/23/2004 10:56:28 AM PST by Rummyfan
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To: LauraleeBraswell
People (particularly Senators) who advocate abolishing the Electoral College fail the Seriousness Test. They are obviously flapping their gums to no effect because there is no way, short of a new Constitutional Convention, the Electoral College will ever be eliminated, because the requisite number of states will never approve a Constitutional amendment to do so.

The Electoral College was a compromise intended to guarantee the small states would have a voice in national politics and would not be overly dominated by the large states. What was true then is true today and will remain true in the future. The small population states are over-represented in the Electoral College, and they like it that way. It would be directly against their interests to eliminate the Electoral College, so it would be political suicide for any small state legislature to support such an amendment.

Not gonna happen. Neverhatchi, tamilnachi. So why does Feinstein waste our time talking about it?
18 posted on 12/23/2004 10:56:59 AM PST by gridlock (ELIMINATE PERVERSE INCENTIVES)
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To: rightwingcrazy

The Electoral College was based on the system used by the Holy Roman Empire to elect emperors. George I of England had as one of his titles "Elector of Hanover".

The separate votes for states was a wonderful idea, and keeps corruption (think Cook County Illinois) from flowing over the state borders.

I really like the system in Nebraska and Maine. There corruption in one county is limited in effect to that congressional district, and the added electoral votes for the state. Arrange a conspiracy to commit felonies for 1% of the electoral votes? It hardly seems worth while!


19 posted on 12/23/2004 10:57:58 AM PST by donmeaker (Why did the Romans cross the road? To keep the slaves from revolting again.)
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To: johnny7

Does anyone else feel this country is being methodically dismantled?


20 posted on 12/23/2004 10:58:13 AM PST by Paperdoll (On the cutting edge)
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