[Mb-civic] Letter

[Ian]

Here is my letter in response to the New York Times editorial on abolishing the electoral college:

----- Original Message ----- 
From: Ian 
To: letters at nytimes.com 
Sent: Saturday, August 28, 2004 11:32 PM
Subject: Letter


Thank you, thank you - thank you! - for your call to abolish the electoral college (Editorial, Aug. 29).  That this call is coming from such an austere and respected source as The New York Times is all the better.  One can only hope that you have opened a floodgate, and that other publications, news outlets, elected officials, and the general public will jump on this bandwagon.

For many decades, the electoral college served its purpose: it gave less populous states a higher profile so that presidential candidates did not ignore them in favor of states with the largest populations.  However, the population of the country is now far more widely dispersed with regard to both population and political affiliation, and the electoral college has become little more than another political "tool."

As you note, in 2000, Al Gore won the popular vote by over 500,000 votes, yet lost the election due to the current, archaic system.  This means that, despite the claim - still heard and believed by every U.S. citizen - that "every vote counts," that is simply not the case, and has not been for quite some time.

This country was founded on the most basic democratic principle of all: "one person, one vote."  It is way past time that we return to that system so that every vote really does count.

Rev. Ian Alterman
New York City
(646.489.3444)
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://www.islandlists.com/pipermail/mb-civic/attachments/20040828/1daf43e4/attachment.html