Four times in the history of presidential elections the Electoral College voted against the popular vote as to who will rule. The most recent was our current president, who lost by 3 million in the popular vote. In New Hampshire, it was “our” delegates voting for Hillary Clinton when the N.H. public went for Bernie Sanders that enlivened the debate as to the usefulness of the Electoral College.
Its origins and purpose are debated: create equal representation of small/large populated states or ensure the masses do not disrupt the powers of the landed rich, etc. I have not resolved my thinking on this.
However, I have resolved that choosing delegates to the College is broken, corrupt, anti-democratic and institutionalizes voter disenfranchisement.
Here is how it works. First, you have to belong to a party. You contribute money and time to the party. You schmooze with the party leaders. You swear allegiance to the party. Once you have done that, as a reward, you are chosen to represent the party come election time.
What’s missing, of course, are the voters. One-third of New Hampshire voters do not belong to a party. We are independents. Delegates from either party do not represent us. Our votes represent us.
Until the way of choosing electors changes, with their allegiance to the people, not the party, the system will continue to be corrupt, legitimize voter suppression, and enforce the systematic disenfranchisement of millions of people in New Hampshire and across the nation.
SUSAN McKEVITT
Bradford