Re: Illinois State Lawmakers Look to Help Obama
[quote=toasty;432350]That was the point I was trying to make, at least obliquely, that started this whole discussion, and I have yet to hear anyone refute it. Will dropping the electoral college do away with the 2 party system? Of course not -- but the use of the electoral college pushes us towards a two party system. Even if a third party were to become a serious player, one of the other parties would eventually go away and we'd be back to two -- that's the way it has happened throughout history, anyway...[/quote]
Dropping the electoral college would turn the 2 party system into a 1 party system. Candidates would no longer focus campaign efforts anywhere but in major cities.... Los Angeles, San Fran, New York, and a few others. The rest of the country would be largely neglected.
We see this happen in a smaller scale with Primaries. For example, I grew up in Washington DC. The population inside the city limits of Wshington DC is primarily poor and black. Therefore, any elections which take place in Washington DC will always end with a democrat winner. So... if a republican never has a chance of winning in Washington, then the only way I can ever have a say in the political process is if I register as a democrat. At least that way I can vote in the democrat primary, and have a say in which candidate doesn't represent me the worst. The result is that you basically have 1 party.
The electoral college still gives high population areas greater weight. California and New York still have more votes than South Carolina. But with the college, a candidate cannot choose to simply neglect people living in the 45 smaller states.