Maryland officially became the first state on Tuesday to approve a plan to give its electoral votes for president to the winner of the national popular vote instead of the candidate chosen by state voters.
I have to agree with the plan's sponsor, State Sen. Jamie Raskin, that elections determined by popular vote would "reawaken politics in every part of the country." Our present system has become ridiculously skewed. Every election comes down to a few key states with the most electoral votes, while the rest of the country is virtually ignored by the candidates. And after the debacle of 2000, small wonder that so many people think their vote doesn't count and don't even bother to show up at the polls.
Of course, Maryland stands alone and the approval is only symbolic unless many more states sign on. It's seems unlikely that the big vote holders who enjoy all the attention are going to be anxious to give up their star status, so it will be up to the 40+ ignored states to make it happen.
I hope they do it. If we can't expel the Electoral College, then at least we can suspend its influence. We need to nationalize our elections again so that every citizen feels like a stakeholder in the outcome and leaders are elected at the will of the people, instead of at the whim of a few hanging chads and nine men in black robes.
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