On Monday, Gov. Jerry Brown signed legislation in favor of changing the way we vote in presidential elections. Right now, California awards all 55 of its electoral votes to the candidate who wins the most votes in the state. Since California is almost guaranteed to vote Democrat, it is often overlooked in campaign season. If this new system is approved, the presidency will go to the candidate who receives the most popular votes overall. This would mean that Republican voters in California would actually make an impact in the election; so Republican candidates will have to consider California when campaigning.
This will be a major change in the way we vote in elections, especially in California. Even though we are the most populated states in the country, we are often ignored during presidential elections. Without the Electoral College, every person’s vote would count, forcing candidates to actually try to earn votes in California instead of assuming that they already have them.
Currently, swing states like Ohio and Florida are the most powerful during elections because their electoral votes are not guaranteed to go to one side or the other.
Under the current system, Republican voters are essentially wasting their votes because all of our electoral votes always go to a Democratic candidate. The new system would make it possible for all 55 electoral votes to go to a Republican candidate, as long as they receive the most popular votes nationwide.
This new method of voting will help avoid a repeat of what happened in the 2000 elections when Al Gore won the popular vote but George W. Bush was elected. It makes sense that the person who receives the most votes should win.
In order for this new system to go into effect, 270 of the country’s electoral votes need to approve it. California’s support of this is a big deal because we hold almost 20 percent of the nations electoral votes. Our 55 votes bump the current total up to 132 out of 270 votes, almost half of what is needed to make it official.
It is interesting that Jerry Brown, a Democrat, chose to support as system that could soften California’s democratic influence. Even if California votes Democrat again, the 55 votes could still go to a Republican candidate if they receive more votes in the rest of the country.
In the end, this system is fairer and would make people in California consider their vote more. It gives our individual votes more weight toward the outcome of the election. It is too easy now to vote Democrat because we know the state will be going for the Democrat anyway. This new system will force us to vote for whom we want as a nation, instead of just whom we want as a state.
If this system is implemented soon, California will get a lot more attention from presidential candidates come November.
Hopefully other powerful states will follow California’s lead and vote for change. It’s time for California and other states in the same boat to have a bit more representation in the upcoming elections.