By David Lieberman
Living in Oregon, we have been spared the brunt of presidential election politics, because we are considered a "blue" state. While many are grateful for this snub, there is another reality. Our voices are not really heard. The two presidential campaigns will spend more than $1 billion, and most of it will be spent in Ohio, Florida, Virginia and Colorado. When they are in those few states, they are pandering to a narrow group of "undecideds" and trying to encourage their base to vote. The campaign rhetoric is focused on what their polling suggests the people in these few states want to hear. What about the rest of us?
How did we get here? The answer is the Electoral College, a distant legacy from our Founding Fathers. The college was created because the elite landowners, who founded our country, did not fully trust a true democracy of the people for the election of the president. The idea of creating electors, selected initially by state legislatures, provided some separation from the "tyranny" of the masses. Bottom line: Our founders did not trust us. The second goal was to preserve the power of the states. States could have more power if their votes were not divided, as they would be in a popular election.
The candidates have realized that states that are likely to vote either Democrat or Republican are not in play. Although individual congressional districts may swing one way or another, the electoral votes all go to the winner of the state -- no matter how narrowly they win. This can result in a democratic paradox: The individual winning the majority of the national vote could well lose the election in the Electoral College. It has happened as recently as 2000, and could happen again this year.
We, the voters, are the losers in this arrangement. The solution is easy and constitutional. Electors to the Electoral College could be elected by congressional district. Two at-large electors from each state could still be selected based on the overall state vote. Think about how this would change the political landscape. There are congressional districts around the country (and in Oregon) that are closely divided, and would become the "Ohios" of the campaign. President Obama and Governor Romney might actually pay a visit to Oregon and might address issues of concern to Oregonians. Ohio would miss the personal attention every four years, but the rest of the country would benefit from a more national campaign.
A central principle of our democracy is that "we the people" have a voice in determining the leaders of our country. The Electoral College, as it is today, mutes that voice, and can enable a minority candidate to win the most important job in our country. It distorts electoral politics and creates the narrow campaigns we have witnessed this year. It is time to change, and the fix is easy.
David Lieberman lives in Southeast Portland.