It is very apparent that many of you forgot your Civics from high school. I blame the 17th amendment for this.
The Connecticut compromise set up our bicameral Congress since the founders could not agree on whether the people or the states should have the ability to make the laws. One part is supposed to represent the people (House) while the other represents the states (Senate). The House numbers for each state would be determined by the Census and reapportioned based on the population. The Senate would always consist of 2 senators from each state that were appointed by the State legislatures. This was done to show that all states were equal. This compromise was mirrored in the Electoral college.
The 17th Amendment (1913) changed how this works. We no longer allow the State legislatures to appoint Senators. It was claimed there was too much corruption in the States to allow this to continue and that it would be better for the people to pick the Senators. You could argue that this change was needed at the time, but it could also be argued that the corruption is worse now when it comes to the popular election of Senators.
In the 100+ years since the amendment, most Americans do not realize how much power was taken away from the States by this one amendment. We only see the Federal government as this all-powerful body that rules over the States. This was never the intent of the founders.
The idea that someone's vote counts more than someone else's vote based on the State they live in is ridiculous. It shows you have no knowledge of how our country was created and designed. If you want to get rid of the Electoral College than you are in essence in favor of getting rid of all States and just having one centralized Federal Government. No State governments would be needed any longer as we would no longer be independent states joined together by a constitution. Instead of doing something so ridiculous, maybe we should repeal the 17th Amendment so the Americans can actually understand how our government was designed and how it is supposed to work.
The Connecticut compromise set up our bicameral Congress since the founders could not agree on whether the people or the states should have the ability to make the laws. One part is supposed to represent the people (House) while the other represents the states (Senate). The House numbers for each state would be determined by the Census and reapportioned based on the population. The Senate would always consist of 2 senators from each state that were appointed by the State legislatures. This was done to show that all states were equal. This compromise was mirrored in the Electoral college.
The 17th Amendment (1913) changed how this works. We no longer allow the State legislatures to appoint Senators. It was claimed there was too much corruption in the States to allow this to continue and that it would be better for the people to pick the Senators. You could argue that this change was needed at the time, but it could also be argued that the corruption is worse now when it comes to the popular election of Senators.
In the 100+ years since the amendment, most Americans do not realize how much power was taken away from the States by this one amendment. We only see the Federal government as this all-powerful body that rules over the States. This was never the intent of the founders.
The idea that someone's vote counts more than someone else's vote based on the State they live in is ridiculous. It shows you have no knowledge of how our country was created and designed. If you want to get rid of the Electoral College than you are in essence in favor of getting rid of all States and just having one centralized Federal Government. No State governments would be needed any longer as we would no longer be independent states joined together by a constitution. Instead of doing something so ridiculous, maybe we should repeal the 17th Amendment so the Americans can actually understand how our government was designed and how it is supposed to work.
