Monday, April 4, 2011

Electoral College and the Interstate Compact (Post #24)

AB 459 is a bill currently before the California legislature that would change the way our state allocates its 55 Electoral College votes for President.

Currently, California has a winner-take-all approach. Whichever candidate wins the popular vote in California essentially wins all 55 of California's Electoral votes. For example, Obama won the popular vote by 24% over McCain so he received all 55 of California's Electoral votes. If Obama had only won by .01% he still would have won all of California's Electoral votes. Either way, public opinion polls showed that Obama would cruise to victory so neither candidate spent any time campaigning in California. This bill would attempt to bring California, which has over 12% of the nations' voters, back into play.

Normally, the only way to change the Electoral College is to amend the Constitution but that requires 2/3rds of a vote in Congress and ratification by 3/4th of the states. This is a tall task. Instead this bill relies on Article I, Section 10 of the Constitution which allows states to make interstate compacts (agreements) and Article II, section I which allows states to decide how it wants to allocate its Electoral votes.

Here is what the bill would do: California would award its 55 Electoral votes to the nation-wide popular vote winner. In other words, whichever candidate wins the most votes across the country would get all of California's Electoral votes. If states with Electoral votes totaling 270 (out of 538 possible) or more decide to join this interstate compact, then it becomes official and the next president of the United States will be elected through popular vote.

If you were a state politician would you vote for this bill? Why? Why not?

Here is an argument against the bill.

84 comments:

  1. Miriam Bejines P.5 Mr.SloanApril 5, 2011 at 9:33 PM

    Yes i would vote on this bill because that way it can be more fair for the new president to win by the peoples decision rather than by electoral votes.

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  2. Yes i would vote on this bill because this is a more fair way to vote for the president. There would be no cheating. The president would only win with popular vote rather then having to deal with the electoral votes. This makes it more fair and some what easier.

    Jaskiran Kaur
    Mr. Bauer
    Government
    Period 2

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  3. Lucero Cardiel. Mr. Bauer 3rd periodApril 5, 2011 at 9:54 PM

    If I were a state politician, I would favor the original way of counting the popular votes. With the states deciding individually how the electoral college will look like, I would have a bigger chance of winning than if states are all put together in a vote.

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  4. i would favor the original way of counting votes because what if CA isn't in agreement with the majority of the US? we could turn the tables. i agree something needs to be done i just don't think this is the correct way to do it.

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  5. Sergio Maldonado, Sloan p.3/ Bauer p.4April 5, 2011 at 11:40 PM

    The compact would allow the candidate with the most popular vote win the election, and leave the electoral college without the ability to do anything about it. People may argue that this might not represent what the state wants, if another candidate wins, but the President is a national office, so what the whole U.S votes must happen. If I were a state politician, I would vote for this compact because any future presidential candidate will then have visit my state to rally to get votes.

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  6. I believe that this would be a huge change in our electoral process, and although it would give more power to the people, I do not think it is a good idea. The electoral college was created as a way to check the mass democracy idea that the founding fathers were somewhat afraid of. Democracy is beneficial to the people, but the founders of our country believed that if too much power was given to the people, our country would be run inefficiently and poorly. I agree with this. Popular opinion is often motivated by the media and by pure self interest. If the country moved more towards the complete popular vote, many smaller factions would be left without a voice in politics. As the cliche saying goes, "if it ain't broke, don't fix it."
    -Caleb Boyd
    Mr. Sloan
    Per. 2

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  7. I would vote for it because it would put the people back in charge of voting instead of politicians.

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  8. There is nothing wrong with how canidates win electoral votes now except for the fact that no matter the margin of win, the candidate gets all of the votes. Seems fair to me since all candidates get an equal shot at winning the votes. As a politician, I would not vote for this. Yes, it is giving the people more of a say in the decision making of their leader but, as a politician, you want the best chance you can get at any state...especially California because of its large number of electoral votes.

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  9. Ofcourse i would vote on this bill because it can be more fair for the new president to win by what the peoples decide on rather than electoral votes and i think its more fair.


    tania hinojosa
    sloan.5

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  10. yes i would vote for this, it gives the people more power, unlike the citizens on America in the past, we KNOW more and information and events travel faster because of technological innovations, we are not the inept masses that existed in the time of Madison. This would allow citizens to directly vote for the president, therefore if he does a bad job, the citizens have only themselves to blame.

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  11. If I were a state politician I would vote on this bill. This bill would give the canidates a fair way of winning by allowing the popular vote to choose their presidency.
    monica salazar
    mr slaon

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  12. If I was a state politician, I would not vote for this bill because it doesn't give the state a chance to even vote. Popularity is not everything when it comes down to who has better plans and tactics for the country. Plus, popularity voting is already occurring at the moment the way I view things. This bill would just make the process faster. I don't like the idea of winning based on popularity.

    Chrissy Vue
    Sloan
    Period 3

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  13. This is actually an excellent idea. It makes the vote of people from California, more valuable.

    Guadalupe Velasquez, Sloan Period 1

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  14. Emily Geiszler, BauerApril 6, 2011 at 5:56 PM

    If I were a state politician, I would want to pass this bill. It could get people excited about voting again. Right now, were are a Democratic state so a Republican might feel that their vote won't matter anyway so they wouldn't vote. If this bill were to pass, every vote would count. It would make more people interested and excited. I think that this would be a good thing, worrying about unfaithful electors would never be an issue again because the winner is based on popular vote. It is a good thing, and it is time for change.

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  15. Alexis Watson Bauer 3April 6, 2011 at 6:30 PM

    I would vote no because everyone has a chance to be an electoral voter people just don't get that involved. Plus people don't vote on anything, but image anyway so I think only attractive people would get in and that isn't always the best.

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  16. i think it is actually a more fair way than we have now to vote for president so i would have to vote yes on that bill. i think if this bill actually passes it would lead more people to want and be encouraged to vote. having to worry about things like a bad voting system an non truthful electors wouldnt be a problem any longer. it would be a little difficult to change it though because we have voted the same way for so many years but i think we could do it.

    Steffanie Eisenga
    Sloan
    Per.5

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  17. If I was a politian I would vote yes on this bill because everyone's vote would matter more. The states that approve this bill will become stronger and decide who the president is. This bill works in the best interest of the nation as a whole.
    Erica Ayala, Bauer, per. 4

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  18. I think a politician could definitely benefit from this bill. The electoral votes from California could be huge. I mean that could possibly make them the president of the U.S.

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  19. Spencer PellandiniApril 6, 2011 at 6:55 PM

    I think it could be good to change the voting system. People will probably feel better about their vote like it actually counts for something. At the same time we have used the same system for so long people may be a little stand-off at first.
    Spencer Pellandini
    Sloan
    P.1

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  20. i think it is best to keep it how it is. the popular vote is what counts and what many rellay on. if it changes.. californias popular vote may or may not be in agreement with the rest of the US and would be unfair... its better as is..
    ALONDRA MUNOZ
    SLOAN P5

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  21. This new bill would be a good idea. People can vote dirrectly for their president. This bill would be let the people be more involved with politics. It is a good idea because people will need to learn about there candidate before choosing. This bill will be great.

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  22. A change does sound like something that is good, but changes aren't always the beat. Changing the voting method could disrupt any fairness or competitiveness that exist with the present voting.

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  23. I dont like the whole electoral college thing so im with changing it but i dont think that is a good way. California is known for always being differnet or having new ideas and if our votes counted on the rest of the country then this isnt the right idea.

    Gerardo Salcido
    Bauer P.5

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  24. kayla rodriguez sloan5April 6, 2011 at 8:53 PM

    i dont like the new method of voting. however i do feel like there needs to be a new way. it needs to be fair for everyone. the tables could be turned if it is a whole state vote. idk something should be changed but in the fairest way possible

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  25. I would probably have to agree with a majority of the posts and vote for the bill. Overall, I think the President should be a representative of the people, not a representative of the representatives of the people. The electoral votes are kind of always decided, and this bill would make it a little more fair for all the voters.

    Brian S.
    Per. 4 Sloan

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  26. Michael Freeman Per 5 SloanApril 6, 2011 at 8:56 PM

    The political system was never perfect, and I don't think that it will change any time soon. I am not too fond of the way that it is run now, because each state has difrent amounts of people with difrent views. If the ratio just happens to not fall under you, then you are screwed.

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  27. I think that changing the way the electoral college works is not a good idea. If all the states end up following this bill then there will be no need for the electoral college. The president would end up being determined by the popular vote. There has always been a barrier between the people and government because people can't always be trusted to vote the correct way. The way that the electoral college is set up allows for those in politics and that know what is going on to help determined the president. I think that this bill is unlikely to go into effect because probably most politician do not like the bill because it makes the outcome too unpredicatable. Know one will know, till the end, were the votes go to.

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  28. I know that in class, i said it was really dumb at the people who made up this legislation were idiots (i was an idiot for saying that), but i really like it. It would be like evry vote counted. i like it.

    Olivia Palmer
    Bauer period 4

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  29. I think they should award electoral college votes via district rather than states, that makes more sense to me anywho.

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  30. i would say yes because this gives the candidates the chance to win presidency by the way it should be, by numbers and popular vote.

    Daniel Ruiz
    Sloan
    Per 5

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  31. I think this new bill Wouk be a good idea because the people should get to vote for what they want. However, the people don't always vote for what's best. Some people vote for the better looking candidate. Anyway, this could be a good idea so I say go for it.
    Victor alvarez
    Sloan
    Pd5

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  32. I would absolutely vote in favor of this bill, especially after the Bush/Gore fiasco in 2000. This way, we are able to circumvent the electoral college alltogether, an outdated and archaic system. The electoral college is a bad system left over from when the elites of the country were concerned that no one had enough information to vote for their leader. That has changed because of the media and our constant stream of information. The electoral college needs to be eradicated, and this is the easiest way to go around the electoral college.

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  33. karina ramos mr sloan period 1

    i would definetly vote yess for this bill to pass. because this seems like a way more fairer way to calculate votes and to win an election. The president would only win with popular vote rather then having to deal with the electoral votes. this seems more easier.

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  34. I would vote yes for this bil because it would finally let the voters choose who wins and not just letting the electoral college choose the winner. Sloan per 1

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  35. Richard May, Mr. Sloan, Period 4April 7, 2011 at 2:35 PM

    IF i was a pilitician i would not vote for this bill because i could not campaign in all states. With the way the electoral college is set up at the moment it allows candidates the ability to focus n certain states. To change this would create a lot of adverse effects, they would need more money and they would only focus on states with the biggest populations, this would create a problem because with the way it is the only focus on the states the need...to do it by population is to hard to b percise.

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  36. I really don't think that he way they are chosen is wrong but if the bill would help on what the people would chose then why not i would vote for it any way it cant make that much of a difference .

    richard manzo
    pr5
    sloan

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  37. Maria Schmidt, Bauer, Per 5April 7, 2011 at 4:02 PM

    If I were a politician I would vote yes for this bill. Voting through the electoral college does not seem fair because the electors could vote differently than their representative people want. If this bill passes, it will quite possibly encourage more people to vote and get involved. A lot of people believe their one vote doesn't count for anything, but this new voting process could change their minds.

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  38. I would vote yes for this bill to pass because now a days its a lot more easier to campaign because It'll be all over the internet as well at the television and we the people will get to vote fairly for a president.
    Adilene Vazquez
    Sloan Period onee

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  39. I think that the system we have currently is good but im open to change. I think we should maybee try it for a year or two to see how things work out if not we could always go back to the old system
    jake beilby

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  40. I think things should stay as they are because if the voting just went off of numbers and popularity then wouldn't thing just get ugly when people are voting. It could be good but i think it should just stay the way they are.
    Tori Milligan
    Sloan per.3

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  41. Breana spiro sloan p.4



    If i under stand correctly i would vote for this bull because i feel each vote counts everyone must be heard and i feel that. If we just count the winners vite we our not truly paying attention to the elcection and we must we have to get to know the person we are choosing to run our country

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  42. Katie Frogue, Sloan P1April 7, 2011 at 5:19 PM

    If I were a state politician, I would want to pass this bill. It could get people excited about voting again. Right now, were are a Democratic state so a Republican might feel that their vote won't matter anyway so they wouldn't vote. If this bill were to pass, every vote would count. It would make more people interested and excited. I think that this would be a good thing, worrying about unfaithful electors would never be an issue again because the winner is based on popular vote. It is a good thing, and it is time for change.

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  43. i think that california should stay the way it is. i believe that by changing our political systems, many people will not be that involved because they will have to research instead of just being presented to candidates. yet again change is good and politicians benefit from this bill.

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  44. I believe this bill should pass so voters could choose who to win

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  45. If i was a politican i wouldn't vote for this bill because if i decided to run for president and i am a democrat i might not be guaranteed any state that has normally been a solid blue state. While it would bring voters more involved in the process it may not be good for the politicans.

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  46. i would vote yes on this bill because more people will want to vote, and democratics and repulbicans will want to vote. This will also make the election processes faster and less confusing :)

    Trista Dowdy
    Sloan per 5

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  47. I would vote in favor of this bill because it gives the candidates a fair way of winning. This also gives the majority of the people what they want, but once again people dont always vote.

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  48. Chelsea Ray, Sloan p1April 7, 2011 at 7:28 PM

    I would vote against this bill. Yes, it does seem like a good idea but good ideas dont always work out the way they are planned too. The current voting system seems to be working fine and there is no reason to potentially mess that up.

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  49. If I'm not mistaken doesn't the candidate with the most votes nationwide usually recieve the most electoral votes as well, with the exception of Gore? If this is the case then the bill makes perfect sense. The electoral college seems kind of useless except for representing the general public, but do we really need them to represent us? The point of electorates is to represent their constituents, but if they are expected to vote the same as constituents why not just count the votes of the people directly? I'm all for this bill that would rely on what the people want.

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  50. Alejandro Ibarra (Mr. Sloan, P.1)April 7, 2011 at 8:17 PM

    To me i really do not see a big difference. Either way it is most likely that all of California's electoral votes will go to the popular vote.

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  51. If I was a politician who was sure to win the old way, then I would definitely not want to change it, but if I knew the other candidate would take the votes, then I would want the change to happen. I think the new way is a fair way because it sees how the politician does everywhere else before California decides to give him/her all 55 votes.

    Melody Morphis
    Mr. Sloan
    per. 1

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  52. I would vote for this bill because that way politicians would have to campaign in California and other major states. It would give voters the direct power to vote for the president and would increase voter participation.

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  53. It would be an interesting turn of politics. If we just go with the national popular vote, then our vote will most likely just sign a already won victory. I am slow to support this. The founders of our nation designed it one way, and I am hesitant to throw their original plan out the window.
    Caleb Newman

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  54. Well as much as would like to say I support this bill, I do not. Probably mostly because I like the tradition of it and mostly because this seems like cheating the small states to only help the big states. I am sorry but I cannot support this bill as much as like the idea behind it.
    Bauer per. 1
    Sloan per. 3

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  55. Ricardo VillalpandoApril 7, 2011 at 9:52 PM

    it would be nice to see some change in the but some times people don't really no what they are voting for but hay if really does happen it would be really interesting what the results would end up being but any way yeah i would vote on it any way what do we have to lose.

    ricardo villalpando
    pr5
    sloan

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  56. I think it is weird that California would be excluded from the actual presidential race. Would this mean that California wouldn't even have an obligation to vote since its electoral votes would just be given to whoever wins the popular vote in all the other states? I understand the purpose of the bill. It is trying to make the election of the president more based on the popular vote rather than the electoral vote. Maybe this would be just a transition into ratifying the Constitution and getting rid of the Electoral College. I'm just a little troubled with the details of the bill and don't see how Californian citizens could have any say in the election this way.

    Devin Smith, Mr. Bauer, P.1.

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  57. I think the state should just leave it where it's at cause the elections go fine so there's really no reason to mess with it

    Thomas Shelton

    P.5

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  58. The Electoral College was created so that an educated class of people would make the right decisions when endorsing a candidate, as the founders lacked trust in the average citizen. They feared that a tyrant could easily manipulate the masses and gain power from the vote of the people.

    Seeing that we haven’t had any presidents with tyrannical intentions, the Electoral College seems to be doing its job. Why change it?
    (Sloan P.3/Bauer P.4)

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  59. Josh Agans, Bauer P.5April 7, 2011 at 11:01 PM

    i do not think we should change anything. has the electoral college made any horrific decisions on voting for president? i dont think so. the electoral college is doing its job it is supposed to do. electing the president the way we are now is working just fine to me.

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  60. dominique Jimenez Sloan 5thApril 8, 2011 at 7:09 AM

    If I was a candidate I wquld totally vote for this. This makes everything so much more fair and easier. Even though to make this happen we have to change what has been always used in the past. Its much more fair and a better way to do things.

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  61. Danielle Smith, Sloan P1April 8, 2011 at 7:44 AM

    I wouldn't change the system from how it is and always has been. An electoral college is there because those people are more educated about it and they are a good representation of their people. I'd keep the tradition. It has kept the government working thus far; ad it doesn't seem like all the kinks have been worked out of this bill yet anyway.

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  62. I think that the voting should be changed. It would give a more fair distrubtion of votes towards the candidates. some elections may change if this were to happen.

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  63. I feel that there needs to be a change but it will most likely not happen because nothing major has caused there to be any change. The electoral college has not messed anything up that bad that we would need to change something that had been working.

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  64. i would vote for this bill, because i believe the people should vote on who the president should be. I dont think we should have an electoral vote. Who knows what they're really doing behind closed doors? it will minimize cheating i think.
    Samantha white
    sloan per 5

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  65. I really can't say I would vote for this bill. What if California doesn't agree with the majority of the U.S.? What if our 55 votes is what takes away the majority from a potential president? I don't believe the system needs to be changed, it has been going good for a number of years and change is unnecessary. Why don't we go and worry about something else?
    Marklin Nixon
    Mr. Sloan Period 1

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  66. I would support this bill because people should have the right to choose there own president.

    Jaskiran Kaur
    Mr. Bauer
    Government
    Period 2

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  67. Maria Perez
    Sloan Per:4
    I believe that this idea is ok, because if a candidate is already popular enough, the other votes from California, would just confirm the winner. I think that any way they do it, most of the people will know who to pick, and even if California wants someone else, it can be less than what the rest of the nation wants.

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  68. i disagree with this method. california's electoral votes should be decided by the opinion of california's people, not by the rest of the united states. if everybody did this, there would be no point in dividing america into separate states.

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  69. I believe that the way it is now is fine. There is no point in change. We have other bigger problems to deal with. Such as our economy for example..

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  70. amanda eckroth
    per.1
    slaon
    I think that will be a great idea becuase the person will win by popular and by what the people think is the right move to pick.

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  71. i would vote for the bill. it would make thing more fair for the new president. to me that would make more sense.
    erika oropeza
    mr. sloan
    p.4

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  72. Steven Reichmuth, Bauer, period 2April 10, 2011 at 11:56 PM

    The electoral college system should not be done by majority within the state becuase it does not represent everyone equally. Currently canidates do not even try to get a states like california or texa's votes because the of the majority vote system they have in place.

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  73. This bill would give the candidates to compete more for the votes of the people. With this bill the candidate that has the most americans votes will receive all californias electoral college votes. I think this is a good idea because the president with the most fame will win most likely.
    Jonathan Ramos
    Per.2
    Mr.Bauer

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  74. Yes i would vote on this because there would be more votes than usual.The people can directly vote for the person who they want to win.

    tania hinojosa
    sloan p5

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  75. Janeiry balderas, Mr. Sloan, Period 4April 13, 2011 at 9:34 PM

    I believe that giving all the votes to the candidate that would win the overall votes in the nation would be something risky. Yet good to some candidates that wish that California would decide and they can take in the victory in, yet it can also after those that wish to have the final results be exactly on how each individual state voted. Many candidates might like this yet California isn't really aware of the power that the have and this would make the this move dangerous of making California the one to have the last say.

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  76. I would vote yes because of the fact that it's going to bring a lot more votes in. which would lead to for more participation on votes of the people.
    Santiago Naranjo Diaz
    P.1

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  77. Gabriela Gomez P.2April 23, 2011 at 8:22 PM

    My opinion towards proposing this new bill is taht i think it would be effective if its passed. Our electoral college now is good based on how are presidents are elected but this bill makes it fair for both canidates. Instead of majority votes and who has more or not, this way is divided to make it more equal.

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  78. I somehow don't see how this bill is going to help Californians be better represented. While I like the idea of a president elected by popular vote, and doing away with the electoral college, I feel that a better way would be to do just that. Just flat-out count the votes, and the person who gets the most wins. I don't see how the Electoral college makes any sense or helps anything. Califonia giving all of its electoral votes to the popular winner throughout the country seems to give Californa less say, because even if more californians vote democrat, if the rest of the country votes republican, all of our electoral votes will go that way. This represents us far less. This doesn't seem like the way to go, I really think we should just work towards eliminating the electoral college system all together.

    Sasha Schotzko-Harris
    Bauer 1

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  79. If it was entirely up to me I would not vote on this and instead choose to keep it the same, the way it used to be. All candidates running for election have a chance of winning the state and therefore, there is nothing wrong with how the system works now. The system to me seems just perfect the way it currently is.

    Brian Leiva
    Mr. Sloan
    Period 5

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  80. I would vote yes on this bill because i think that this is a more fair way to vote for the president. The president would only win with popular vote rather then having to deal with the electoral votes. I think that this makes it more fair.
    Stephanie A
    Mr. Sloan
    per.4

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  81. I would not vote for this bill becasue i think it is unnessacary to change things that have been going on throughtout our whole history. the way the candidates get their votes is perfect the way it is. there is no need ot change it and i think the way we do it is completely fair.
    Blake Harrison
    Bauer
    Period 3

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  82. i think that is the worst possible idea, the electoral votes should go to the candidate that the people of California want. Giving the majority winner extra votes is a crazy idea that is an unfair advantage.


    EJ Keller
    Per. 4
    Sloan

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  83. I would vote for this bill to pass because i am tired of playing this huge game of telephone and see whho wins.
    Jordan elzie per 2 sloan

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  84. I would not vote tonpass this bill. We do not need it cause the voters will indefinately decide and there will always be an outcime greater than a 50/50 votage. Whether, as stated , it is just .01% or more on one side. Joeliane Muegge Sloanp.5

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