Dear Editor:
Can you imagine the fury and temper tantrums that would have been unleashed by Trump and his supporters if he had lost the electoral vote but won the popular vote? As it is, he is unhinged because he lost the popular vote. Hillary Clinton has been a model of restraint comparatively. In the last seven presidential elections, Republicans have won the popular vote only once (2004) but won the electoral vote three times. What Trump called a "rigged" system has been good to Republicans.
First: The electoral system was designed to give smaller states an edge in deciding our president. How disproportionate is representation by the electoral college? Consider that Wyoming has three electors for about 700,000 residents. California has 55 electors for about 40 million residents. That means that one voter in Wyoming equals three voters in California. If Wyoming and California voters were equal, California would need to have over 165 electors, not 55. "One person, one vote" is a myth.
Second: Disproportionate representation in the U.S. Senate. Consider that the 22 least-populated states (mostly Republican controlled) have 38 million residents and they have 44 senators. California with its 40 million residents have just two senators. In the big picture, 12 percent (38 million) of the U.S. population (320 million) controls 44 percent of the Senate.
Third: District boundaries have been gerrymandered to disenfranchise Democrats. In 2012, despite getting 1.4 million more votes than Republicans in U.S. House races, Democrats lost 30 seats.
Forth: 80 percent of fake news stories are right-wing fodder. NPR recently interviewed the creator of fake news for profit. He said there is less left-wing fake news because liberals don't take the bait so much.
Fifth: Voter ID laws have been passed solely to disenfranchise Democrats. There is absolutely no proof of widespread voter fraud more fake news propaganda.
Could Republicans win if all things were truly "fair and balanced?"
__________
Issue-oriented letters to the editor are welcome. All letters should be limited to 400 words; letters may be edited to conform to guidelines. The author's name must appear with the letter, and the name, address and phone number provided for verification. Letters that cannot be verified by telephone will not be published. Email to [email protected].