Evening star., 1945-01-01
Letters to The Star
The Disproportionate Electoral
Strength of South Criticized

Strength of South Criticized
To the Editor Of The Star:
Recently had published in your
valuable paper letter I wrote on the
complacency of the distaff side In mat
ters pertaining to the war effort. My
particular complaint you may recall,
was registered against the spending
orgy noticeable in department stores.
To conclude my public letter writing
for the year 1914 would like to get on
record in favoring a cause which has
about as much chance of developing
in our lifetime as Hirohito has: of eat
ing chow mein in Lem Yung Fong's
restaurant. My present pet disturbance
is the distribution of electoral votes
within IL Southern States.
AS a citizen of the great State of
Connecticut, / resent the fact that we
have only six Representatives in Con-
gress who, together with our two Sem
ators, combine to make up eight elec-
toral votes. Please bear in mind that
in the election just past, 83l 1898 persons
went to the polls in our State or other
wise showed their preference through
absentee ballots. Were all our fight
ing sons and daughters at home per-
sonally to state their choice and had all
our new residents Of the past four years
been eligible to vote, the Connecticut
vote easily would have passed the one
million mark. But when the electoral
college assembled to state its preference,
eight meager votes were set down op-
posite Connecticuts tabular place in the
roll call.
Review Of State Votes.
Alabama cast approximately 100000
votes less than Connecticut, yet Ala
bama had 10 electoral votes. Arkansas
voters numbered only about 215,OOO,
roughly $4,000 less than the total case
in Connecticut, but Arkansas has nine
votes in the electoral college, one more
than the Nutmeg State. Florida, with
just as many electoral votes as Con-
necticut, still cast 35o,0OO votes less
Georgia has IL electoral college votes,
yet only $4,000 Georgia citizens both
cred to vote to trail Connecticut's total
by more than 100000. Louisiana, with
10 votes, was off the Connecticut tally by
slightly under half million. The State
of Mississippi-and here is an alarming
llustration-polled 172,379 votes in the
November election, more than $4,000
less than the total for Connecticut.
Yet Mississippi has one more vote for
President than the Land of Steady
Habits. North Carolina, with IA votes
six more than Connecticut-still lacked
more than 10000 of Connecticut's total.
Oklahoma boasts 10 votes in the COL
lege, but trailed Connecticut's vote last
month by more than 10000. South
Carolina and Connecticut have the same
electoral vote-eight, but South Caro-
lina's voters numbered only l03375, ex-
actly 728,6l8 less than Connecticut's.
Tennessee, with IL votes, was more than
800, 900 behind Connecticut. Virginia has
three more votes than Connecticut in
the electoral college, yet its total vote
was nearly 100000 in the rear.
I have selected Connecticut as this
example of gross political injustice SIM
ply because I know the State and it is
convenient. The same would be true,
proportionately, of every State above
the Mason-Dixon line. . Vermont, for
example, has only three votes in the
electoral college, and yet the voters of
Vermont tailed 125,347 times to 90
ahead of South Carolina by $4,000 in
popular vote but eight behind in the
college.
Wants Franchise for District.
This preposterous lack OF balance in
our electoral college setup Is only an
other reason for the abolition of the
system. Whereas President Roosevelt
and Gov. Dewey actually ran a neck
and-neck race in popular vote Trough
ly 25.5 million to % Million, Mr.. Roose-
welt won with ridiculous ease in the
outmoded and unfair electoral college.
Revision of this insidious system pre-
sents a fair challenge to the Seventy
ninth Congress. Either qualified voters
in the Southern States should exercise
their privileges at the polls or their
States should be penalized in the elec-
toral college. Better still, let's throw the
whole system out the window and
decide all election issues on popular
vote alone.
And while we're at it, let citizens of
the District of Columbia have an op-
portunity to decide who Is to be their
most important resident.
CAPT r. B. D.