A week before the election it looked like Bush would win the popular vote but lose the Electoral College. Despite the lack of campaigning in the big states, the votes of citizens there do count more. While the extra two votes each state gets helps to marginally increase the clout of the small states, their votes still matter significantly less to the overall outcome. One statistical analysis shows that in 2000 the vote of each Californian counted 2.663 times more than the vote of each Montanan. The argument that the Electoral College helps the small states because candidates wouldn't go there otherwise is negated by statistics and by reality.
Candidates campaign in big swing states and ignore safe, small ones.
That simple idea is the one we peddle to emerging democracies in Eastern Europe and Latin America. Maybe it's time for the electoral reformers to go beyond new voting machines and take on something that would really make every vote count. Viacom Internet Services Inc. All Rights Reserved.