Why Republicans should care about Electoral Reform
“Neither a wise man nor a brave man lies down on the tracks of history to wait for the train of the future to run over him.”
We've received a lot of feedback lately
from Republicans who have asked us to move on from the election and quit generating controversy about the electoral process. We believe that this feedback is grounded in the worry that continuing to dwell on 2016 will not allow us to move forward as a nation united, a concern which we completely understand. We'd like to make two key points in our defense:
Voting Rights Brigade is a non-partisan group focused on extending the franchise of voting to all Americans, and
Republicans should be just as concerned with electoral reform as Democrats.
Although the first point seems self-explanatory, the second may have the reader asking for further justification. Given that the Electoral College, gerrymandering, and voter suppression laws have been so effectively used to prevent Democrats from governing, one would assume that Republicans would be completely satisfied with the current state of affairs. Wise leaders, however, would be quick to heed the words of President Eisenhower, given that this pendulum will eventually swing back the other way.
Since we know the internet loves lists, we thought we might best illustrate the point with one of our own.
Three Reasons for Republicans to Care
The Electoral College is a roll of the dice. George W. Bush defeated John Kerry in the 2004 Presidential Election by over 3 million popular votes but only 34 Electoral College votes. However, John Kerry would have won in the Electoral College if he had managed to flip about 100,000 voters in Ohio. One can imagine gleeful Democrats calling for unity and irate Republicans asking to ban the Electoral College in such a circumstance. Due to the winner-take-all system for allocating Electors, our current system is just as dangerous to Republicans as it is to Democrats. It is no better than a game of chance. The only difference is that Democrats have thrown snake-eyes twice in the last 5 elections, and the Republicans are making the classic gambler's mistake: confusing luck with skill.
Uprooting the Washington establishment. Much has been made of Donald Trump's rise to power on a wave of white working class resentment against an east-coast elitist establishment. Nothing is more indicative of deep-rooted Congressional malaise than the fact that incumbents get reelected over 90% of the time despite dismal public approval ratings. Donald Trump and his administration, perhaps recognizing this problem, are already calling for term limits which would remove half of Congress. Newt Gingrich--the former Speaker of the House and a current Trump advisor--made term limits part of his "Contract with America" that swept Republicans to power in 1994, but which ultimately failed to gain adoption. The elimination of gerrymandering, like term limits, would limit the power of incumbent politicians, making elections more competitive, and ultimately making Congress more accountable to the voters. In the attached video clip, we can see that Ronald Reagan was supportive of such a move. The anti-establishment Republicans of 2017 should take a cue from the Gipper.
Texas is just as marginalized as California. Make no mistake, anyone who doesn't live in a "battleground" state simply doesn't matter in a Presidential Election. This is just as much the case for a red state like Texas as it is for a blue state like California. As a result, turnout in non-battleground states is routinely lower than in swing states, as voters become convinced that their participation is worthless. Perhaps this is the most insidious effect of the Electoral College and gerrymandering. Once voters feel habitually ignored by the electoral process and their representatives, they start to tune out or head for the exits. Should it come as any surprise that the two states with the most active secessionist movements in 2017 are Texas and California? Republicans and Democrats alike should see these as ominous signs, not to be ignored. Let's hope we can achieve electoral reform before it comes to that!
Special thanks to Brian Cannon, Executive Director of OneVirginia2021