“Each State shall appoint, in such Manner as the Legislature thereof may direct, a Number of Electors, equal to the whole Number of Senators and Representatives to which the State may be entitled in the Congress…
US Constitution: Article II, Clause 2
Why does this matter?
There is no such thing as a “right to vote for president”. The above is the literal text of the US Constitution. This is the law of the land. A state legislature can decide any method to send electors for president. Bottom line: A state legislature can forget about whatever people voted and just send what they want.
29 states with 300 electoral votes have GOP legislatures
As of Aug. 1, 2020, 29 states have legislatures in which both houses have Republican majorities. Those states control 300 Electoral College votes.
If I was a Supreme Court Justice and someone sued a state legislature for overturning the will of the people, how could I side with the plaintiff? It’s right there in the constitution. We would have to uplhold it, wouldn’t we? “…in such Manner as the Legislature thereof may direct…” What can any of us do? It is a bug in the system that can not be easily fixed.
And if that happens, which has a very strong chance of coming true, what will we do? Would we just shrug our shoulders and say “oh well, better luck next time” or would something more dramatic happen?
The reality is that our system is under strain and may very well break in 2024. It’s under strain for many reasons. Racism, climate change, unlimited corporate lobbying, ‘small state’ dominance in the Senate, corruption, skyrocketing healthcare costs, income inequality, and more are contributing to our current tension.
What will happen next?
Secession? Civil War? Nothing at all? I don’t know.
I know that history is filled with violence and inequality. During my life, there have been many violent uprising around the world. Kleptocracies, Oligarchies, and dictatorships have been on the rise. The stakes are higher than people realize. We can have nice things, or we can have chaos.
What can we do?
Progressives need to vote at much higher rates. See chart below:
The reality is that even with record turnout in 2018, it is still horrible at 50%. Only half of eligible voters voted. If 80% of eligible PROGRESSIVE votes turned out. It would be a landslide in every single election including red states. Look at the absolute numbers of turnout in presidential elections:
| Election | Voting-eligible Population (VEP)[25] | Turnout[25] | % Turnout of VEP[25] |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1980 | 159,635,102 | 86,497,000 | 54.2% |
| 1984 | 167,701,904 | 92,655,000 | 55.2% |
| 1988 | 173,579,281 | 91,587,000 | 52.8% |
| 1992 | 179,655,523 | 104,600,000 | 58.2% |
| 1996 | 186,347,044 | 96,390,000 | 51.7% |
| 2000 | 194,331,436 | 105,594,000 | 54.3% |
| 2004 | 203,483,455 | 122,349,000 | 60.1% |
| 2008 | 213,313,508 | 131,407,000 | 62.5% |
| 2012 | 222,474,111 | 129,235,000 | 58.0% |
| 2016 | 230,931,921 | 136,669,276 | 59.2% |
| 2020 | 239,247,182 | 159,690,457 | 66.9% |
In 2020, 66% was a significant record. However, it still meant that 80 million eligible people did not vote. Assuming that they were 50/50 democrat vs republican, that’s 40 million untapped votes. If just a few million more progressives voted, they could swing every election.
Every election has consequences and I hope progressives realize this is the only way to change things for the better. Here is a list of charities that help increase voter turnout.
Whatya think?