I recently reviewed H. J. RES. 8., "Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States to abolish the electoral college and to provide for the direct popular election of the President and Vice President of the United States." If you want to read the details you'll have to go to thomas.loc.gov and look it up.
I've heard good arguments on both sides of the electoral college debate and I can't make up my mind as to whether to be against or for it. Considering how almost every other voting system in our lives uses the majority rules philosophy (school elections for example), I consider it a deviation from normalcy to have such an archaic system in place for the election of the most important person in the U.S. government.
Please let me know what your opinion is on the electoral college and whether you support this bill?

The electoral college helps to:
>contributes to the cohesiveness of the country by requiring a distribution of popular support to be elected president
>enhances the status of minority interests,
>contributes to the political stability of the nation by encouraging a two-party system, and
>maintains a federal system of government and representation.
I am all for a two party system.

One more thing:
This year Colorado voted on the idea of the proportional electoral vote. It did not pass.

No, yogore, I believe she is saying that canidates would recieve a proportional amount of the electoral votes. For example, if a state had 10 electoral votes and one canidate recieved sixty percent of the vote, he would recieve 6 electoral votes, the other canidate would recieve 4 votes (forty percent).

I don't understand why we don't elect a president through popular vote. It would be the best representation of the wishes of the people.

Twins. are you saying all states should have the same number of electoral votes?

I don't see a problem with the electoral college. It's pretty fair and it gets the job done.

As for campaigning, MA doesn't get campaigned in because it's a democrat state. That's just how it goes. The swing states get the move advertising done in them. Personally, I am fine with MA being a democrat state.

States with small populations have very few electoral college votes anyway, so they still get very little campaign time. Realize that WITH the electoral college, candidates spent a grand total of about 30 seconds in CA, knowing it was (thank goodness) a democratic lock. How is that fair?

Bushism of the day:
"You work three jobs? … Uniquely American, isn't it? I mean, that is fantastic that you're doing that." —George W. Bush, to a divorced mother of three, Omaha, Nebraska, Feb. 4, 2005

bookie is right, the electoral college does protect (some argue over-represent) the smaller states.

i think we should keep the electoral college but make it so that candidates split the electoral votes in states. the winner of the entire state would win the two electoral votes from the two senate seats. the winner of each congressional district would win that electoral vote.

i think this would make each electoral district matter more than the current winner take all system.

blue democrat if I am reading what you just wrote correctly you are saying that by aboloshing the electoral college candidates would have to focus in campaigning all over the country. If you are saying this then you are completely and totally wrong. If there was not an electoral college none of the rural states would matter one bit. Candidates would spend everyday in areas of hugh populace Not in rural states like New Mexico where counties have a population density of .04 people per square mile. They would spend time in New York, Los Angeles etc. etc. If there ever comes a time when there is no electoral college rural states better be scared because of the fact that candidates will not care one bit about their interests.

I don't understand why the winner of the popular vote doesn't win the entire election? Then the president would truely be chosen by the people. Also, canidates would have to focus in campaigning all over the country, not just in battleground states. Every vote would actually count.

I think we should abolish the electoral college and establish a uniform voting procedure, even if it is a large metal locker that can hold the stench of one cabbie for years.

The electoral college doesnt need fixing, the way people vote needs to be fixed. We need to have a uniform system of voting, and not punch card or computer screens please! All states should have all the same rules and steps for voting as well as machines. New York uses the big metal "closet" looking booths with levers and it works very well. You can look back at the machine and actually see the votes unlike the computers in that when its lost you can't get the vote back.