The Tiger (San Antonio, Tex.), Vol. 28, No. 4, Ed. 1 Friday, November 11, 1988 Page: 1 of 8
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TIGER
St. Philipp College • San Antonio, Texas
November 11, 1988 • Vol. 28, No. 4
The Electoral College:
Are They Stealing YOUR Vote?
By Philippa L. Jenkins
The day of reckoning has finally
come and gone. George Bush and
Mike Dukakis charged to the end of
their long race for the presidency,
Monday, November 7, with the
republican “confident on being on the
verge of victory” and the Democrat
promising a “November Surprise” at
the voting booths. George Bush won
the presidency, sweeping through the
south and picking up enough close
wins in the north to become the first
vice-president in 152 years to earn the
oval office. The presidential results
are as follows:
U.S. POPULAR VOTES
Bush............40,391,863 54%
Dukakis .........34,317,257 46%
ELECTORAL VOTES
Bush........>..........355 77%
Dukakis.................102 23%
Considering the above-mentioned
results it would seem that the popular
votes should be more consistent with
the electoral votes, or should they?
It only seems logical that we, as a
people, should be allowed to select the
candidate the majority of us voted for.
However, our presidential election
system is not set-up that way. To win
the presidency, a candidate must put
together a combination of electoral
votes that will give him/her(?) a ma-
jority in the electoral college.
Well, who are these ‘electoral col-
lege’ people, you might ask and what
do they do? The electoral college is a
unique institution that never meets
and serves only in this limited elec-
toral function; although the function
is of significant importance. The
framers of our constitution devised
the electoral college system because
they believed the president should be
chosen by electors exercising in-
dependent judgement.
In making a presidential choice on
election day, the voter technically
does not vote, directly, for a can-
didate, but chooses between “slates”
of presidential electors. Each slate is
made up of persons selected by the
state party (in most states, during par-
ty conventions) to serve in this essen-
tially honorary role. The slate that
wins the most popular votes
throughout the state gets to cast all the
electoral votes for the state (a state has
one electoral vote for every senator
and representative.
The electors on the winning slate
travel to their state capitol the first
Monday after the second Wednesday
in DECEMBER, go through the
ceremony of casting their ballots for
their party’s candidates and go home!
The ballots are sent from the state
capitols to Washington, D.C. where
early in January they are formally
counted by the House and Senate. The
name of the next president is THEN
ANNOUNCED. So why do we have a
popular vote? Why even take the time
to wait in long lines if your vote does
not directly decide who will be presi-
dent?
Americans have long been concern-
ed about the nature and workings of
the electoral college. Critics argue that
(1) small states and large “swing”
states are over represented; (2) the
winner-take-all aspect distorts equal
representation of all voters and can
elect a candidate who receives fewer
popular votes than an opponent; (3)
electors can (and do) vote for a person
other than the candidate the majority
of the people choose. Defenders of the
system say opponents exaggerate the
possible dangers. The system has not
broken down so far and probably
never will. And if the electoral college
is anti-popular or anti-majoritarian —
SO WHAT? The electoral college pro-
motes unity and legitimacy by helping
to generate majorities that are not
narrow-geographically or ideological-
ly, and by magnifying narrow margins
of victories in the popular vote. Some
would say that reform is needed in
this area.
A controversial area of reform
would be to elect the president
through direct popular vote, just as
governors are, and abolish the elec-
toral college. This kind of plan usually
provides that if no candidate receives
40% of the total popular vote, a runoff
election would be held between the
two contenders with the most votes.
Supporters insist that this plan gives
every voter the same weight in the
presidential balloting, in accordance
with the one person — one vote doc-
trine. Winners would take on more
credibility or “legitimacy” because of
their clear-cut popular victory. And
the dangers and complications of the
present electoral system would be
replaced by a simple, visible, and
decisive method. Opponents argue
that a plan of this nature would re-
quire a national election system, thus
further undermining federalism; that
it would encourage majority rule; and
smaller states would be submerged
and lose some of their present in-
fluence.
In 1977, President Carter recom-
mended that congress adapt la con-
stitutional amendment to provide for
direct popular election of the presi-
dent. In July, 1979 the Senate voted 51
to 40 in support of such an amend-
ment, far from the two-thirds vote
needed. The proposal was opposed by
conservatives and by liberals respon-
sive to Black and Jewish groups who
feared they might lose their “swing”
vote power under this system. Pro-
spects for changing to direct election
seem dim.
How the outcome will affect students
TIGERSTAFF
EDITOR
Glynis Jackson
REPORTERS
Chad Livingston
Rudy Pittman, Jr.
Philippa L. Jenkins
THE TIGER is the Student
Publication of St. Philip’s Col-
lege. Opinions expressed are
those of the writers and not of
the administration. Deadlines
are every Friday at 2 p.m.
All articles, letters or other
written materials must be
typed, double spaced on an
8V2” x 11” sheet of paper. Any
work submitted after the
deadline will be considered for
the next issue, depending on
the timeliness of the subject
matter.
Send to: THE TIGER, St.
Philip’s College, 211 Nevada
Street, Box 50, San Antonio, TX
78203.
So, the election is over (Or is it? See
preceeding story) and all the hoopla,
misleading television commercials
and mud-slinging can subside — until
next time. Some voters breathed a sigh
of relief, some cried but most really
weren’t sure if they had much of a
choice. Now that we have a new presi-
dent, it should be of interest to all
students, just what difference does it
make who wins the presidency.
The good news is, there will be no
increased income taxes; that right —
“read my lips” - NO INCREASED
INCOME TAXES. Exactly where the
Bush administration plans to get the
money to reduce the Budget Deficit is
anybody’s guess. But he swears he’ll
leave the people alone and work it out
with his buddies in Washington. That,
my friend, remains to be seen.
The bad news is, there will also be
no increase in the minimum wage.
Right now, the $3.35 minimum wage
is not enough for most people to live
off of; but Bush figures, “That’s O.K.,
they can always get an extra job...”
Which I’m sure he sees as a positive
for America. More productivity per
individual, and all. He’ll even help
you, once a year by allowing you a tax
credit for the additional child care
you’ll need. Wow! That money can
really come in handy to help pay for
the kids’ toys you bought in
December. But, it doesn’t do much for
your day-to-day expenses.
And don’t get pregnant. If you do,
you put yourself at the mercy of your
employer who will still have the final
decision whether you or your spouse
can receive “a leave” without putting
your job in jeopardy. And, if you’re
working for a company that doesn’t
have health care to cover the ex-
penses, you are out of luck again,
By Glynis Jackson
since guaranteed basic health in-
surance won’t be implemented either.
But, don’t get discouraged.
American students aren’t washed up
yet! There is a die-hard spirit to ac-
complish and excell that has survived
the last eight years, and will survive
the next four/(eight?) years. Student
loans will be increased (but why do I
get the impression that they’ll relax
the qualifications and students whose
parents paid for their education in the
past will not qualify for student loans,
pushing out many now-deserving in-
dividuals...But that’s another story)
and that’s good news.
But, as I look at Bush and Quale,
two thoughts come to mind that make
me smile: First even a “Whimp” can
be president, and second, even when
you fail a class in school, you can still
hold on to the dream ‘that you, too,
can be president of the United States.”
A New Logo for The Upper Deck!
■Ms
m
By Mary Kinz
Congratulations and thank you’s are
in order for those persons who par-
ticipated in the campus-wide
“Upper Deck Logo Contest.
The first-place winner
of the new logo for the
dining room was, A1
Garibay, Jr.
As was mentioned in the last issui
of The Tiger, the Hospitality Opera
tions department will arrange for th<
logo to be reproduced by a profes
sional artist and placed at the entry o
the dining rooms.
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Jackson, Glynis. The Tiger (San Antonio, Tex.), Vol. 28, No. 4, Ed. 1 Friday, November 11, 1988, newspaper, November 11, 1988; San Antonio, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth652714/m1/1/?q=%22Business%2C+Economics+and+Finance+-+Communications+-+Newspapers%22: accessed June 28, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting St. Philips College.