Editor,
No, as it turns out, you’re not. If you vote, you’re actually voting for delegates to the antiquated Electoral College. And guess what? Your vote may not even count. Example: If two million and one voters in Arkansas vote, one million vote Democrat, one million and one vote Republican, all six Electoral College votes go to the Republican nominee, thus voiding the votes of literally half of the voters.
And even this process can be altered. In many states, the delegates are required by law to vote for the party’s nominee. In others, like what may happen in this election’s train wreck, either party’s national committee can tell delegates to vote for someone else. So this scenario could arise: You vote for tRump. But the RNC, trying to put out the dumpster fire now raging within, tells unbound delegates to vote for Cruz. So whom did you vote for? Did your vote count?
Real democracy demands either scrapping the Electoral College system, or as some progressive states have done, award delegates as closely as possible in the same ratio as the actual votes.
Real democracy demands abolishing electronic voting. Voting done with computers has been, and will be, hacked and you’ll probably never know. Yeah, it could be the Russians, as the latest red scare is created, but it is more likely to be by the unscrupulous, power hungry oligarchy now running our country while The People blindly believe they have democracy.
Returning to verifiable ink and paper ballots is one partial solution.
This year’s “election” is a disgrace. The current system is a disgrace. It can be changed. But that would mean paying less attention to “reality TV” and becoming more educated about Reality, so never mind.
Rand W. Ozier
Holiday Island