This is first of several emails on various alternative proposals for electing the President.
The fractional proportional (Lodge-Gossett) proposal retains the Electoral College and the current distribution of electoral votes among the states.
Under this proposal, a state’s electoral votes would be divided proportionally according to the percentage of popular votes received in the state by each candidate—with this fractional calculation carried out to three decimal places.
● The fractional proportional (Lodge-Gossett) method would not accurately reflect the national popular vote. For example, if this method is applied to the 2000 election returns, George W. Bush would have been elected President. Al Gore would have received fewer electoral votes than Bush—even though Gore received 537,179 more popular votes nationwide. This outcome is the consequence of the disparities in the value of a vote that are built into this method (discussed next).
● The fractional proportional method would not make every vote equal. There are four sources of inequality inherent in the fractional proportional method, and each is substantial.
- 3.6-to-one inequality because of "senatorial" electoral votes (that is, the two electoral votes that each state receives corresponding to its U.S. Senators).
- 1.75-to-1 inequality because of the process of apportioning U.S. House seats (and electoral votes) among the states
- 1.67-to-1 inequality because of voter turnout differences at the state level
- 1.27-to-1 inequality because of population changes that occur during the decade-long period after each census.
● The fractional proportional (Lodge-Gossett) method would definitely improve upon the current state-by-state winner-take-all method of awarding electoral votes. The current system results in three out of four states being ignored in the general-election campaign. Under the fractional proportional method, every voter in every state would be politically relevant, and candidates would therefore have reason to campaign in every state.
● Because the fractional proportional (Lodge-Gossett) method involves fractional electoral votes, a federal constitutional amendment would be required. In 1950, the U.S. Senate approved such an amendment, but the House rejected it.
