Electoral system in doubt

By Lorenzo Gonzalo                                                                Read Spanish Version

The
United States’ electoral system is unique. It was established in 1888
after heated discussions. In relation to these discussions, we can
mention the words of delegate James Wilson of Pennsylvania to the
Constituent Convention of 1887, where he stated that the topic of a
presidential election "has greatly divided this Chamber and also
the people on the other side of these doors."

He also
stated: "Any other subject pales into insignificance when
compared with this one, now before the Convention, on how to
determine a satisfactory method for the election of the Executive."

Among
the inconveniences to reach accords in the topic of the election was
the enormous size of the territory and the difficulty to establish a
"true electoral campaign" of a national type.

Also,
doubts arose about the political parties, to which George Washington
was opposed, claiming that they would divide society.

Let us
remember that, to the founding fathers, society was composed of the
elements that controlled production: farmers, traders, transport
workers, and highly skilled craftsmen. Women, blacks and menial
workers were ignored for many years as active elements with a right
to vote.

Those
years allowed the Power Elite to consolidate and the forces of
capital to develop the tools to design it, put it into action, and
manipulate it through campaign contributions and the media.

The
essential discussions centered on the election of the Executive by
the Congress, which the Federalists opposed because that would
subject it to the influence of the Legislative Power, countervailing
the "principle of the division of powers."

The
other aspect of the debate was the Electoral College, which could
grant more representation to the small states at election time, thus
giving more absolute powers to the President.

This was
finally accepted, thus proving that Power in the United States was
never meant to be shared with society but used for the service of one
specific sector.

One of
the arguments used at the time to reject election by a majority of
votes was that people did not have sufficient knowledge to consider
the needs beyond their own states, and that was the principal reason
why the creation of an Electoral College became necessary.

No
doubt, even considering that an election dependent on Congress was
not the best method, that procedure at least considered the clamor of
the base, with which the representatives in Congress were closer than
they could ever be to any President-elect.

The
formula of the Electoral College is that each state has a number of
electoral votes equivalent to the number of senators and
representatives, and that no state can have fewer than three
electoral votes. This grants each state a fair representation.

As time
passes and people politicize more and understand that the established
system grants everlasting powers to the financial, industrial and
business sectors, far above those of the majority, the system becomes
more and more questionable.

Some
people in both parties want to change things to secure greater
benefits. As a result, during the electoral process or 2008,
movements are being created to enable a change in the procedures.

Lorenzo
González is deputy director of Radio Miami.