The Time Has Come: Reform the Electoral College Now
Lawrence Lessig @ The Daily Beast Sep 13, 2017
At the core of a democracy lies a simple principle—that votes should count equally. Whether you’re white or black, rich or poor, or from Rapid City or Cedar Rapids, your vote should count the same as the vote of anyone else. “One person,” as this ideal gets expressed, “one vote.”
This principle, however, is violated by the way we elect our President. Because of the Electoral College, the votes of some are worth more than the votes of others. Sometimes much more. One vote in Wyoming, for example, is worth about 3.6 votes in California. One vote in Vermont is worth 3.5 votes in Texas.
That inequality — between states — is baked into our Constitution. The framers crafted an indirect method for electing the President. States are given “electors” equal to the total number of representatives they have in Congress. Because every state, regardless of population, gets the same number of senators, this inflates the power of small states relative to large states. That inequality was part of the framing deal.
Lawrence Lessig @ Medium: EqualVotes.US: Where we are, where we’re going
EqualVotes.US: Where we are, where we’re going Lawrence Lessig @ Medium Oct 21, 2017 Almost a year ago, a bunch of us began talking about how to fix an increasingly dangerous flaw in the mechanics of our Republic — the Electoral College. We had just witnessed the...
read moreLawrence Lessig & Richard Painter @ USA Today: Let’s fix Electoral College. It’ll be easy compared to gerrymandering
Let's fix Electoral College. It'll be easy compared to gerrymandering Lawrence Lessig & Richard Painter @ USA Today Oct 13, 2017 In each state, in a clear denial of proportionality, millions of votes for president don't count. This concept needs urgent legal...
read moreJason Harrow @ Medium: The Road To The Supreme Court
The Road To The Supreme Court Jason Harrow @ Medium Oct 5, 2017 The ultimate goal of the Equal Votes project is to have the U.S. Supreme Court find that the winner-take-all method of allocating electoral college votes violates the core “one person, one vote” principle...
read moreJason Harrow @ Medium: Why Equal Votes And The National Popular Vote Work Well Together
Why Equal Votes And The National Popular Vote Work Well Together Jason Harrow @ Medium Sep 29, 2017 On September 22, Equal Citizens founder Lawrence Lessig went on Reddit “Ask Me Anything” to answer questions about our Equal Votes project. He received several...
read moreJason Harrow @ Medium: Why Courts, Part 2: Courts Are Good At Analyzing Equality
Why Courts, Part 2: Courts Are Good At Analyzing Equality Jason Harrow @ Medium Sep 26, 2017 In my prior post, I explained why it’s helpful that, after we file our legal complaint, a court has to take up our case and tell us whether we win or lose. But that raises the...
read moreLawrence Lessig @ Reddit AMA: Ask Me Anything about Reforming the Electoral College and Equal Votes
Ask Me Anything about Reforming the Electoral College and Equal Votes Lawrence Lessig @ Reddit AMA Sep 22, 2017 "I’m Lessig of Harvard Law School, here to answer questions about the case EqualVotes.US want to bring to reform the Electoral College. AMA!" More...
read moreJason Harrow @ Medium: Why Courts, Part 1: The Court Has To Give Us An Answer
Why Courts, Part 1: The Court Has To Give Us An Answer Jason Harrow @ Medium Sep 19, 2017 Equal Votes is the first public campaign that has attempted to change the way the electoral college functions through multiple coordinated lawsuits. The stakes are huge: two out...
read moreLawrence Lessig @ Medium: “Selective constitutionalism”
"Selective Constitutionalism" Lawrence Lessig @ Medium Sep 16, 2017 Last week, we launched a campaign to raise the funds we need to bring an Equal Protection challenge to the winner-take-all system for allocating electoral college votes. Tons were really excited about...
read moreLawrence Lessig @ IVN.US: Removing the Least Democratic Part of America’s Elections
Removing the Least Democratic Part of America’s Elections Lawrence Lessig @ IVN.US Sep 15, 2017 Voting in America is not easy. You first have to register. You have to find your polling place. In most states, you have to take time before, during, or after work to get...
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