The electoral college is a messed up system, no doubt about it. The whole idea is a patently undemocratic ploy to limit popular influence on government. It's elitist, regressive, and wrong, and it got George W. Bush elected President. With all that in mind, you might think the shadowy Californians for Equal Representation group has a pretty nifty idea.You'd be dead wrong.
California, along with every other state besides Nebraska and Maine, allots all its electoral college votes to the winner of the winner of the state's popular vote. Californians for Equal Representation wants to give each candidate one electoral college vote for each Congressional district they win. Since California is a strong blue state with 55 electoral college votes, that would likely be about 35 votes for the Democrat and 20 for the Republican.
Implemented on a national scale, this proposed system might be a modest* improvement on the status quo. Implemented solely in California, this system would virtually ensure that no Democrat would win a close Presidential election ever again. The margin of victory for George W. Bush in 2000 was four electoral college votes. If California had divided it's votes, the margin could have been 40 votes or more. The hanging chads in Florida wouldn't have mattered a bit.
So let's hope the all those millions of Californians responsible for the Governator either come to their senses or stay home. Democrats are starting to get the word out, but they need to concentrate more energy on stopping this power grab. This country can't afford another Republican administration, and our democracy can't afford another rigged election.
*Even if every state in the country implemented this system it would still be a lousy idea since congressional districts are so blatantly gerrymandered. The White House would belong to whichever party controlled the most state legislatures.
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