California's Electoral College: From disenfranchisement to political revolution

Argument:

With more than 37 million people residing in the state of California; California is by far, the most populated state in the Union. This diverse population ranges from the farming communities in the Central Vally, to the tech communities of the San Francisco Bay to the 10+ million people who reside in the Los Angeles Basin. California's diversity isn't just based on race or geographic location but also in political philosophy. The densely populated coastal regions have a political outlook that differs greatly from those in the Valleys or rural mountain regions.

California's ever growing population, which rivals the population of Poland at 38 million people, requires that the state maintain 53 congressional districts, more than any other state in the Union. From District 53 which covers San Diego to the US/Mexico border to District 1 which is 800 miles to the north and is home to the California Redwoods and the North-Pacific Coast, California's congressional make-up is as divers as the nation is as a whole.

Just as our Founding Fathers found it necessary to institute the Electoral College to secure the fair representation of each state in a National Presidential Election and ensure that the choice of president would not be decided solely by the largest, most populous States with little regard for the smaller ones; so too must California ensure that the entire state electorate is heard from in our national elections and not just the densely populated areas located in coastal regions.

The current winner-takes-all statute of the California Electoral College causes for millions of Californians to be disenfranchised, making their votes null and void when selecting the highest office in the land.

Example:

In 2004, 12,383,678 Californians participated in the State wide election. Of the 12.3 million voters who participated; 6.7 million votes went to the challenger John Kerry who received all 55 of California's electoral votes leaving 5.6 million voters disenfranchised. The winner-takes-all statute does not fairly or accurately reflect the will of the electorate of California. Not only does the winner-takes-all statue disenfranchises millions of California voters, it also props up the two party system awarding one party the lion's share of the electoral vote while leaving all other political parties without any standing and potential funding for the next national election.

Californians can change all of this. Californians can demand that our law makers change the winner-takes-all system to a system that provides a more accurate representation of the political make-up of our state and ensure that millions of California voters are no longer being disenfranchised in the political process.

Proposal:

In order to support a free, open, and democratic society, it is the responsibility of the State of California to ensure that no one vote is weighed more than another, and that no one congressional district has the right or authority to receive or convey the Electoral Representative vote of another district.

It is the will and desire of the people of California that each congressional district within the State of California cast their electoral college vote according to the popular vote within that district. It should be mandated that the selected representatives of the Electoral College cast the vote that represents the popular vote of their particular district and not of the State or the political party they may be affiliated with.

It is also the will and desire of the people of the Great State of California that the two electoral votes that represent the two US Senate seats be awarded to the candidate in a national election who wins the overall popular vote of the state.

Expectations:

This proposal is binding. The people of California will accept nothing less from our State Legislature and our Electoral Representatives. Our law makers are expected to work with due diligence to facilitate the will of the People in this regard.

Californians can no longer tolerate political apathy while millions go disenfranchised and the two party system continues to monopolize the political process. Californians expect full compliance in time for the 2008 national election.

Signed,

The People of California

submitted by
Mike DiBartolo