9/13/2024

One Man, One Vote


The electoral College of the United States was one of the compromises made to protect the small States from the large ones when our country was being created.  The electoral college provides one vote for each Senator and one for each Congressman. Thus a very low population State has 3 electoral college votes with under 200,000 people per vote, while a very populous State like California has over 700,000 people per vote. 


This is clearly unfair, and violates the principle of one man one vote, but it was also part of the grand compromise that created the United States. The smaller States of the union will not voluntarily give up their extra clout.  So don't hold your breath waiting for fairness.


States that have only 3 electoral votes, and thus far more influence than their population indicates include: Alaska, Vermont, North Dakota, South Dakota, Delaware, Wyoming, and Washinton, DC.


It would be an interesting court challenge, demanding fairness with a system that provides one vote per voter, but also very unlikely to succeed, especially with the current compromised Supreme Court.  

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Electoral_College


Sometimes, Thing Just Are Not Fair, and  you have to put up with it.


Process to amend the US Consitution
The United States Constitution can be amended through a process outlined in Article V of the Constitution:


Proposing an amendment

Congress can propose an amendment with a two-thirds vote in both the House of Representatives and the Senate. Alternatively, two-thirds of state legislatures can request a convention to propose amendments.


Ratifying an amendment

Three-fourths of state legislatures or three-fourths of state ratifying conventions must ratify the amendment. Congress determines which method the states must follow.


The amendment process is designed to be difficult and time-consuming to prevent arbitrary changes. The Founding Fathers believed that the Constitution's principles and founding document should not be easy to amend.


The Constitution has been amended 27 times, with the first 10 amendments making up the Bill of Rights. The most recent amendment was ratified in 1992.

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