Senator Boxer says that her amendment would “make every vote count,” but of course it would do nothing of the kind: instead it would create a huge incentive for illegal votes, or votes by illegals; and it would be much easier to “steal” an election with illegal votes counted from one large jurisdiction than from hundreds of municipalities across the nation.
For the most part the Electoral College has reflected the will of the people, and those few occasions when it has not have been in very narrowly divided elections. Does it need reform? Yes, we think that it might, and we think that the wisest solution would be to do what Nebraska and Maine already do: allocate Electoral votes by congressional district. Maine has two Congressional districts. Hillary Clinton carried the popular vote in Maine but Donald Trump carried one of the districts. Under Maine law, Mrs. Clinton received three Electoral votes (one of the district she carried, and two for winning the statewide vote); and Mr. Trump one. In 2008, President Obama benefited from Nebraska’s law. He carried one of the Cornhusker state’s three districts, so won one vote while John McCain, who won the other two districts and the popular vote, received four electoral votes. Remember this: each Congressional district in America contains the same number of people (except for the smaller states that have only one Representative). If votes were allocated by District, “every vote would count,” for each district in each state would be of equal value. Yes, one would have to be vigilant against gerrymandering of districts – but both parties already pay close attention to this, and most redistricting plans already end up in court – so they would be no less fair than they are now. Except in Maine and Nebraska, a candidate can win a state by a very slender margin, and yet sweep all its electoral votes. What is democratic about that? The district system is completely fair; it protects the interests of the smaller states without punishing the large ones; it would equally empower every Congressional district in America, and candidates would campaign all over the country, not only in the "swing states"; and the Electoral votes would be divided based on exactly how the candidates performed. Let’s employ the district system to allocate electoral votes.