From: cubby77267@aol.com   
      
   On Sat, 16 Oct 2004 18:21:05 GMT, Greg Heilers   
    wrote:   
      
   >Loki wrote:   
   >   
   >   
   >>   
   >> Actually, the exact opposite is true. The Electoral College by design   
   >> gives voters in small states a greater say in who gets elected than   
   >> those from the larger states.   
   >>   
   >> A state such as Alaska, for example, has approximately 700,000   
   >> citizens yet they have 3 electoral votes.   
   >>   
   >> California on the other hand with approximately 34,441,000 citizens   
   >> and has 55 electoral votes.   
   >>   
   >> What that means is that every Alaskan who votes gets about 1/233,333   
   >> of a say in who gets elected but Californians only get 1/626,200 of   
   >> one. So as far as the Electoral College is concerned an Alaskan gets   
   >> three times the say in who gets chosen than does a Californian.   
   >>   
   >> Furthermore, since each state is winner take all, the candidates spend   
   >> the lions share of their time in those states which are competitive   
   >> which means that Presidential candidates will spend more time in Reno,   
   >> NV than they will in NY, NY.   
   >>   
   >>   
   >> Loki   
   >   
   >That was my point.  The Electoral College grants each individual   
   >state, in the role of the "state", a share in the process. A true   
   >popular direct vote...would render state identities meaningless.   
   >Derek's correct observation that the popular vote, and electoral   
   >vote, are often unequal, and out-of-synch...is that way by design.   
   >I feel it is far better that way; than a process which only takes   
   >the popular vote into consideration.  Being a citizen of Texas,   
   >or New York, or Nevada, or Alaska....on a national political   
   >level, should actually *mean* something.   
      
   However, a "state" is only a block of land if you take away the   
   citizens. And when you take the citizens into consideration, the   
   electoral college gives, as pointed out above, greater weight to the   
   say of some of the citizens than to others. And personally, as a   
   citizen of California, it pisses me off that my say in who gets chosen   
   as President only counts about a third as much as that of an Alaskan.   
      
      
   Loki   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)