Students in a Pennsylvania class hold a mock election and learn how the Electoral College works.
I feel ignored in this election.
I will vote as I’ve always done, but it would be nice to get a visit or two from a presidential candidate.
And not just to ask for money.
Even those rare appearances are for high-dollar per-person plates at exclusive venues - which few Oklahomans can attend.
After reading Rep. Tom Cole’s comments in World Senior Writer
Wayne Greene’s column on Sunday, my defense of the Electoral College has weakened.
It took me several hours and some Google searching to remember why I once liked this system.
Now, I can’t back it.
The original purpose was to even the playing field for rural voters.
Coming from a small town, that was the part I liked.
By having an electorate, candidates would need a state campaign strategy rather than one focusing on the most populated cities in the nation.
This strategy puts the rural and urban voters in a state on equal footing because an elector represents them all.
Also, the Electoral College has as much to do with a distrust of the popular vote.
We are a country who will get on bandwagons for crazy fads from the Macarena to Gangnam Style.
So, how could we possibly trust these people to elect one of the most powerful world leaders?
These wise electors would protect us from ourselves and cast their support for a candidate in the best interest of the country.
That’s just elitist.
A person can dance Gangnam Style and still be knowledgeable enough to cast a vote.
This system may have worked during the early 19th century as political parties gained influence, but it’s outdated.
The states, including Oklahoma, having a winner-take-all approach doesn’t help.
Rural areas get ignored because candidates know they can take the electors if they can capture the metro areas.
As Rep. Cole pointed out, the Electoral College has evolved into a battle for just a handful of states.
Within those states, only the most populated cities get attention.
A few analysts this season have narrowed it down even further to about 10 counties in the U.S. up for grabs.
Campaigns have bypassed big states such as Texas, California and New York, considering them already decided.
That would change in direct presidential elections.
Candidates would need to make stops in more states, even if they are in just the metro areas of the state.
Oklahoma still may not get any attention, but we aren’t getting any now.
At least with a popular vote, each vote counts.
One thing gives me pause: If there is ever a challenge, I shiver at the notion of what a national re-count would look like.
