Herald and news. [volume] (West Randolph, Vt.) 1878-1943, 1896-03-19

objected to this oligarchic arrange
mcnt and by political conventions
chose their own standard bearers. The
duty ef the electors has been Who'll
lly mandatory in practice. They
have done what the people at the ma
tional elections have directed them to
do. The November election always
settles who is to be president, though
the electors do not cast their ballots
and the president is not formally and
officially elected uEt;l weeks later. Sc
We have seen that the electoral college
does not serve the purpose for which
| it was intended. Instead of naming
the peoples president, the people name
their own and the electors merely ex-
ccute their will. The plan might be
abolished without any loss or friction
indeed, on several accounts we are
prepared to show that it ought to be
abolished.
1t does no good that we have dem
onstrated. It does harm. 1t occa-
sionally has, and in the future may
again, defeat the peoples will. Sever
al times in our history the choice Of
the electoral college has been contrary
to that of the people rs shown by the
popular vote. This has come about
by the law Of majorities. A majority
of the votes OF any state settles which
group OF electors that state chooses.
Now one state may give large major
ity in favor of, say, the Republican
electors, and another state having the
same number of electoral votes may
be carried by the Democrats by a
narrow plurality. The two states just
offset each other. But what becomes
of the large Republican excess in the
vote of both states? 1t is entirely val
ueless. One plurality would have
been as good as 10000. So, in COM
pairing the popular vote of the whole
union with the electoral vote it has
several times happened that the mi
nority has won by means of the cleo
toral arrangement.
Again, no elector is bound by any :
thing except honor to cast his vote for
the nominees OF the party which
chooses him. A case is easily con-
ceivable where in close election the
result might hinge on one or two cleo
toral votes. Bribery or intimidation
might be brought to bear on one or
two electors and cause them to cast
their votes for the opposing candidates.
They could plead the right to do SO
under the constitution. What could
their party do? Nothing.
Again, we now have what are called
"pivotal states" Money and work
are put into carrying them while the
rest Of the country looks on, an inter-
ested spectator. II one state was as
as another, according to its
size, as would be the case were the
election by popular vote, the contest
would be fair and even over the whole
union. Why should it not be /? Ver-
mont, and New York, and Texas
would all be equally debateable since
! single ballot in one would count as
much as in any other, because the vote
Of all would be taken into account in
determining the result.
The electoral college is obsolete.
The people elect, so far as this awk-
ward plan will permit them. 1t should
DC swept away before it again mocks
hem. One party is as much inter-
'sted as another in having the election
II president and vice president made
~ the sovereign people at their No
7embcr election. 1t is fair to all for
{ means simply the rule of the ma
GRITTY.