I have ranted about the Electoral College, as most intelligent people have. I have also admitted that we are likely to never get rid of it, as most intelligent people are likely to understand (see Electoral College – Last Bastion of Slavery). And, even though I know it is not going away anytime soon does not make me any less troubled by it. As we are awaiting the outcome of the 2020 election that has been handily won by popular vote because the Electoral College Crapfest it got me looking at some more anomolies.
Using my state, Oregon, I looked at the other states that have 7 electoral votes. Those are Connecticut and Oklahoma. As of right now, the reported votes break down as OR: 2.25 Million votes, CT: 1.7 Million votes, and OK 1.52 Million votes. Now Oregon is farther along in their vote count so both Connecticut and Oklahoma will increase their vote count in relationship to Oregon; but not a whole lot.
We can attribute part of the discrepancy to voter turnout, part to Oregon’s aggressive voter registration, part to Oregon’s vote-by-mail system, and part to changes in population that has not been adjusted since the last census which might change the number of electoral votes.
Yes, all of this can come into play. But that is just another strike against the Electoral College’s fairness. When the Electoral College votes in December Oregon, Connecticut, and Oklahoma will cast the very same 7 votes per state; as if their votes represented the same number of people standing behind them.
Please note I purposely used these three states to represent the problem that you could get with any such group of states with the same number of electoral votes, particularly those with three electoral votes. It was convenient because I am from Oregon and there were only 3 states and they show the problem so darned well.
What can be do about it? Not one damned thing. Not as long as the population centers are the bastion of one political party and the more than 50% of the states are the bastion of the other political party. This is the minority party’s way of maintaining a possibility of power. And as of this writing it has worked; 2 of the last 3 Presidents have been elected with a minority of the popular vote – the true definition of a minority president.
