Posted on 03/27/2008 8:42:13 PM PDT by kingattax
In a state that has seen its share of electoral problems this decade, Florida’s senior Sen. Bill Nelson made a rare appearance before the state Senate Thursday to unveil sweeping federal election reform legislation that would eliminate the Electoral College.
As the state now wrestles with the national Democratic Party to find a solution to seat its 210 delegates at this year’s presidential nominating convention, Nelson noted that “the solution is very elusive,” but that, “If nothing else, this election has provided further evidence that our system is broken.”
The Democratic senator, who sued the Democratic National Committee and Chairman Howard Dean last year for stripping Florida of all its delegates, in his reform bill proposes eliminating the Electoral College and giving American citizens direct election of their presidents by popular vote.
Florida is perhaps ground zero for controversy over the Electoral College. The outcome of the 2000 presidential election meltdown left many Democrats stinging even to this day, since Al Gore won the popular vote but lost to George W. Bush because he was awarded the majority of the votes in the Electoral College, a decision reached by the U.S. Supreme Court.
Not only does Nelson’s bill abolish the Electoral College through a constitutional amendment, but it also establishes “six rotating, interregional (presidential) primaries” beginning in March and ending in June of each election year. It pairs states, large and small, into six different regions; the regions would then take turns going first — something that will surely not sit well with the nation’s first primary and caucus states, New Hampshire and Iowa, respectively.
(Excerpt) Read more at elections.foxnews.com ...
hey trish...that is not what happened. the SCOTUS ruled that florida could NOT change the rules of counting votes in an election that had already happened and that the florida legislature and not the florida supreme court makes those rules. george bush won the electoral votes in florida according to the rules and was not "awarded" anything. nice try, trish.
the electoral college works fine and was designed brilliantly by the founding fathers. leave it alone, bill
Such CHAOS!
Time to "spend more time with the family" Billy Boy!
I say scrap Sen Nelson.
No, this whole article is evidence that the Democratic Party is broken.
I suppose Sen. Nelson couldn’t stand the thought that we might not know for sure.
I agree. The electoral college works well. Leave it alone.
F'ing traitors for leaders, and idiots who comprise the constituency.
Not on my watch!
The Democrats, so much fun to watch, Black against White, Male against Female, all at the Democrat Convention! Pop the Popcorn!
Using the Dem primary chaos as an excuse to dispose of the Electoral College is nuts.
My senator, the cornpone hick hayseed,,,Mr. Squint...the legacy of the He-Coon, Lawton Chiles...what an embarrassment.
its easy to see why nelson is so interested in space. he acts like he is always there.
Then we should also scrap Senators. What’s the use.
There is no such thing as the “electorial” college.
It’s yet another case of the Democrats trying to change the rules if they don’t like the outcome.
Nelson is an arrogant clueless idiot that is obviously a tool for the Clinton’s, now starting to plant the “strategy seed” for the Florida “disenfranchised Voter” , lets go with the Popular Vote angle.
How more sadly obvious can it be....
Which 37 States will vote for this?
I would not be surprised to know that Sen Nelson does not understand that eliminating the Electoral College would require a Constitutional Amendment, not "legislation" as in an act congress. Even if a 2/3 majority of the 535 parasites who we currently call the members US Congress agreed to it, they will not get the necessary number of states to agree.
My prediction of getting such an amendment ratified by 3/4 of the states is zero. It will not even be a partisan issue. It will go back to the first issue that faced this nation --- big states vs small states. Even the lefties in states like Vermont will oppose it because they will become non entities in national matters if it were to pass. Three electoral votes can decide an election while without those three votes, a state like Vermont would be reduced to nothing more significant than a couple of wards on the south side of Chicago or a few blocks in Manhattan. No one would give a damn about them anymore. They would be screwed.
My call is that Nelson is either and idiot, or he is just pandering. Or both could be true.
Beyond that, I know that the Senator does not even begin to grasp the concept of Federalism or does not even care.
Just a continuation of the Democrat Party’s attack on the Constitution and institutions of the United States.
1st gopher to have orbited the Earth.
Liberals bypassed those trite Constitutional "requirements" years ago.
He didn't "win" the popular vote because it does not exist - it is merely a media statistic. Hypocritically, when polls showed Florida close but Bush clearly leading in national polls, the Democrats were heralding the Electoral College, including Gore himself, as a brilliant idea of the Framers of the Constitution in choosing the President.
“I agree. The electoral college works well. Leave it alone.”
Jeb Bush could’ve taken this trash out, and we’d have a tied Senate today.
Exactly. That was their own party rules that made that decision and the Electoral College had nothing to do with that fiasco they have created. The rotating primaries is an interesting idea that could be debating but trying to throw the Electoral College into the mix is really outrageous.
It would be insanity to create a situation where stealing votes in Chicago could cancel votes cast in Arizona or Wyoming.
As the situation now stands, the vote-stealers are forced to steal votes in states where they don't already have a majority. That is not an easy task and justifies the Electoral College all by itself.
So this drooling retard wants the Florida circus repeated every four years, but nationwide instead? Great idea.
I can't think of 37 states that would favor a nationwide plurality vote. On the other hand, more than 37 states would probably benefit from a requirement that a candidate who receives the majority of votes in n of a state's congressional districts must be awarded at least n Electoral votes from that state (other votes could be allocated as the legislature sees fit).
proves how truly pathetic the dimrats are and how they are like members of a dysfunctional family who need constant drama and chaos.
Smaller States can kiss any significant candidate attention goodbye with no Electoral College. If all votes are exactly equal candidates will run up the score in their base and ignore the rest. They will also give every piece of pork to those areas they can.
Absolutely. You don’t use the Electoral College then you can forget about campaigning in small states. It’s the reason the Founders made it that way.
They wanted all Americans represented with all votes being cast affecting the election of the President of the United States.
exactly
Does Sen. Nelson realize there have been only six Democrats in our nation’s entire history who have managed to capture a majority of the popular vote?
Without the Electoral College, Bill Clinton wouldn’t have won in 1992 because there would have been a runoff.
Democrats are the dumbest morons on the planet.
Its pretty embarrassing for him that he will make a doomed attempt to undo what the Founders so wisely placed in the Constitution, a safeguard to ensure the Republic would not be unfairly dominated by those in a mean condition, the mob in the more populous states.
And for his info the,the more imbeciles that are given the vote, the worse off we are.
There was a reason the founders allowed only freeholders to vote.
Not satisfied with extending that right to morons, the democrats now want to illegal aliens to cast ballots.
If any change is necessary I would submit that we return to the practice of having state legislatures select the senators instead of using popular vote.
I think that would hold them more accountable.
It's only "broken" because Democrats can't govern their way out of a paper bag. Such ineptitude is rare in a group. But they've perfected it.
You are spot-on!! That too would eliminate the need for term limits.
You’re right on both counts. On the intellect scale, he is a few smidgens higher than Patty Murray of Washington and Dick Durban of Illinois. On the pandering scale, he is a few smidgens lower than Hillary Clinton and Arlen Spector. On the looks side, he looks 15 years older than his actual age (looks 80 rather than 66).
Those tortoises are mighty slow. That's our Botox Bill -- slow, dull, and thick. It's a wonder he ever made it back down to the ground.
I disagree with most here and oppose the EC (though I’m glad it was in effect in 2000). My vote for POTUS is useless here in Illinois. I want it to matter.
I also support national primaries by IRV voting. Our primary system is ridiculous and IRV would have denied McPain the nod. Dem voters are probably too stupid to handle it though.
Democracy in action. Then again, far too many fail to realize that democracy is essentially tyranny by the majority.
I don't know why Floridians are complaining. The majority of Floridians voted for George Bush (it was close) and Florida's electoral votes got to decide who was to be President in 2000. If anything, the 2000 election super-enfranchised every single Florida voter, even the dumber-than-dishwater voters in Palm Beach County.
Hey Bill you worthless p.o.s. senator of mine.
How about ya quit wasting time with this kind of nonsense and do anything for our state there fella?
Something that is besides trying to insure you re-election fool.
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