04-20-2012, 08:30 AM
Can't find the edit button on my PW screen so here is the amended proposal for elimination of the Electoral College...
RESOLUTION CALLING FOR DEMOCRATIC PARTY OF HAWAII TO INITIATE CAMPAIGN FOR U.S. CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT ELIMINATING THE ELECTORAL COLLEGE:
WHEREAS, the history of the United States of America’s Electoral College is a convoluted and checkered one, with both large and small states benefiting or losing out, depending on the politics of the times;
WHEREAS, the issue of slavery, which was a main factor in the establishment of the Electoral College, was outlawed in the 19th Century;
WHEREAS, the American ideal of one-man, one-vote is no longer seen as a reality by most U.S. citizens today;
WHEREAS, the technological capability now exists for the accurate filing and counting of a popular vote, eliminating a past logistical problem;
WHEREAS, the Electoral College makes some votes worth more than others;
WHEREAS, voters in the 50th State have a difficult time believing their votes count when the rest of the nation has already determined the U.S. presidency while many of Hawaii’s citizens have not had the chance to cast their ballots;
WHEREAS, Hawaii as well as the entire nation continues to experience declining numbers of voters;
WHEREAS, in addition to recent movements on the Mainland that essentially disenfranchise entire groups of voters, young citizens and others are expressing their distrust of the two-party system, specifically through the Occupy Movement that not only went nationwide but international;
WHEREAS, since 2001, Gallup polls have consistently found that “a majority of Americans have continually expressed support for the notion of an official amendment to the U.S. Constitution that would allow for direct election” of the U.S. president and vice president;
WHEREAS, the current Electoral College structure does not support more than a two-party system;
WHEREAS, the movement to eliminate the Electoral College would have more success in the second term of a sitting president; therefore,
BE IT RESOLVED, that the Democratic Party of Hawaii -- whose voters in the past have led the nation in establishing citizens’ rights despite gender, religious, racial, cultural and economic factors – lead the way once again by establishing a panel to study and create a proposed U.S. Constitutional amendment eliminating the Electoral College and establishing a straight popular vote for the nation. The proposed amendment would then be sent to Congress and all state and territorial legislatures for adoption.
RESOLUTION CALLING FOR DEMOCRATIC PARTY OF HAWAII TO INITIATE CAMPAIGN FOR U.S. CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT ELIMINATING THE ELECTORAL COLLEGE:
WHEREAS, the history of the United States of America’s Electoral College is a convoluted and checkered one, with both large and small states benefiting or losing out, depending on the politics of the times;
WHEREAS, the issue of slavery, which was a main factor in the establishment of the Electoral College, was outlawed in the 19th Century;
WHEREAS, the American ideal of one-man, one-vote is no longer seen as a reality by most U.S. citizens today;
WHEREAS, the technological capability now exists for the accurate filing and counting of a popular vote, eliminating a past logistical problem;
WHEREAS, the Electoral College makes some votes worth more than others;
WHEREAS, voters in the 50th State have a difficult time believing their votes count when the rest of the nation has already determined the U.S. presidency while many of Hawaii’s citizens have not had the chance to cast their ballots;
WHEREAS, Hawaii as well as the entire nation continues to experience declining numbers of voters;
WHEREAS, in addition to recent movements on the Mainland that essentially disenfranchise entire groups of voters, young citizens and others are expressing their distrust of the two-party system, specifically through the Occupy Movement that not only went nationwide but international;
WHEREAS, since 2001, Gallup polls have consistently found that “a majority of Americans have continually expressed support for the notion of an official amendment to the U.S. Constitution that would allow for direct election” of the U.S. president and vice president;
WHEREAS, the current Electoral College structure does not support more than a two-party system;
WHEREAS, the movement to eliminate the Electoral College would have more success in the second term of a sitting president; therefore,
BE IT RESOLVED, that the Democratic Party of Hawaii -- whose voters in the past have led the nation in establishing citizens’ rights despite gender, religious, racial, cultural and economic factors – lead the way once again by establishing a panel to study and create a proposed U.S. Constitutional amendment eliminating the Electoral College and establishing a straight popular vote for the nation. The proposed amendment would then be sent to Congress and all state and territorial legislatures for adoption.