COMMENT POSTED TO AN ARTICLE BY ERICH MCELROY IN THE
INDEPENDENT
“If they do go their
own way, they are known as ‘faithless electors’. But if enough of them decide
to dump Trump it could cost him the presidency”
This is a really uninformed article.
Hillary Clinton said, after the 2000 election in which
George Bush was elected with a minority of the popular vote, much the same
thing Donald Trump did once about the Electoral College.
And, as in so many instances, she gave it a sound-bite and
then made no effort to do anything about it.
Like it or not, this is the rigid Constitutional system
under which America must operate until someone is willing to take on the
immense task of changing it.
How hard would it be to change the Constitution?
The President must sign off. The Senate must sign off with a
two-thirds majority vote. The House of representatives must sign off on it,
again with a two-thirds majority vote. And there must be votes in all fifty
states with a three-quarters majority of the states supporting the change.
There is an alternative path. A Constitutional convention of
all the states may be called, but it must be called by two-thirds of the
states. Any amendments approved by the convention must then be approved by a
three-quarters majority of all states.
Does that make it clear why the system remains unchanged?
Could we please stop seeing such articles - there have been
many in The Independent - whose only authentic use can be to frustrate people
who do not understand the Constitution, really misinforming them and trying to
demean Trump for matters about which he has nothing to do?
