Being a jackass in a Republican state
By Jenna DuffyEditor-In-Chief, The VOICE
This coming election will mark my second election and many of Glendale Community College's (GCC) students' first election. I've made my decision; many have made their decisions as well. I have one problem though: The Electoral College is discouraging my vote.
I'm voting for Sen. Barack Obama in a state that already has decided it will vote for Sen. John McCain regardless of which politician I mark on the ballot, so then why am I voting?
The Electoral College has turned the democratic society into a façade, only giving the appearance that "we the people" have a say in the outcome of the election. That is what's known as an oligarchy. An oligarchy is a system of government run by a group of selected people. Ask China how their government runs.
I don't think it's un-American to question the system in place and the current system is a tad fishy.
United States citizens instead vote for state representatives that represent their political views. These are the people that make up the Electoral College. They are free to vote for whomever they decide regardless of their party's affiliation or for whom they promised voters they would vote for.
Then why are the presidents' names even on the ballot?
The popular vote gets tallied but has no bearing over the election. My vote obviously does not count either way. I can vote for other people and issues and I have only my faith that my vote counts on those issues, but for the biggest decision that affects everybody's lives only a few people are deemed "worthy" of actually voting for the president.
The election of 2000 proved that the Electoral College does not always speak for the people of the United States because even though Al Gore was favored with the popular vote, George Walker Bush was unleashed upon us for eight years.
Even with all of that in mind I will still mark Obama's name on the ballot, hand it to the election official and hope that the ballot box isn't one giant dumpster.
