The Flawed Electoral College System
By MAS HASHIMOTO
You and your team came in first but you lost the
championship! Were you angry? Why?
In which of these contests could a second-place finisher win the championship? Baseball’s World Series? US Tennis Open? Master’s golf at Augusta? No?
The answer is, only in the U.S. Electoral College presidential election. In the 2016 election, Hillary Clinton received 65,845,063 of the popular votes to Donald J. Trump’s 62,480,160. Trump is a “minority President.” But in the Electoral College votes, Trump received 304 to Clinton’s 227. How can that happen? The states’ electors made the difference.
Who devised the “Electoral College” system, and for what purpose? It was the delegates to the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia in 1789 who, by the way, were instructed to revise the Articles of Confederation. They exceeded their authority by devising an entirely new Constitution. Is the US Constitution an illegal document? Hmm.
In this Constitution, only free, white, adult males with property would be allowed to vote. Only those who owned property had a stake in this new country. Women were forbidden to vote. Of our 244-year history, women have been voting for only the last 100 years with the ratification of the 19th Amendment on August 26, 1920. Discriminatory federal and local laws as well as practices against women and minorities continue today.
The convention’s aristocratic delegates believed that common, white, male voters should not have a say in government for they would be easily persuaded and misled to vote for a candidate outside the natural aristocracy, or upper class. The President and Vice President are the only federal officials not chosen by a majority vote of the people. A direct democracy was to be avoided at all costs.
This Electoral College system permits the common voters to elect electors from each state, equal to their number of Senators and Representatives. Members of Congress cannot be electors. These electors would select, from their own social class, a President and Vice President who would attend to their special needs. Before political parties, each elector had two votes. He who received the highest vote became President, and the second highest, Vice President. However, in 1804, the vote was tied between Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr. Alexander Hamilton of New York broke the tie in favor of Jefferson. With the 12th Amendment, electors cast ballots separately for President and Vice President together.
On the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November, the election for electors takes place. This year it’s on Nov. 3, 2020. Political parties usually nominate their slate of electors at their state conventions or by a vote of the party’s central state committee, with party loyalists favored as electors.
Presently, there are a total of 538 electors that come from 100 Senators, 435 Representatives, and 3 electors from the District of Columbia via the 23rd Amendment. From a total vote of 538, one must receive at least 270 electoral votes to be elected. Prior to the 23rd Amendment, the citizens of D. C., with a population that was larger than Wyoming, Vermont, and Alaska and similar to North and South Dakota, were taxed without representation.
Chances are you have never voted for President and Vice President. You believed you did, but you didn’t. On the ballot, the names of the state’s electors are omitted and replaced with the names of the political parties’ nominees for the office of President and Vice President.
For historical reference, in the 1960 Presidential election, John F. Kennedy ran against Richard M. Nixon. From California, how many electoral votes did each receive? Kennedy? None. Nixon? All 32. No one, not one elector from California, voted for Kennedy. Who won that election—JFK or RMN?
California, the largest populated state with 40 million residents, has 55 electors made up of 53 Representatives plus two Senators. Texas has 38 electors, Florida has 29, New York has 29, Pennsylvania and Illinois each, has 20.
If there are four political parties qualifying for the ballot in California, let’s say Democrats, Republicans, Greens, and Libertarians, there should be 220 names of electors making for a very long ballot (55 senators times four parties). However, only the names of the candidates are on the ballot, giving the incorrect impression that one is voting for the declared candidates. Independent party members will play a major role in this election.
These following states have a combined population equal to California’s population of 40 million. There are seven small states plus Washington D.C. that have populations of 1 million or less; these states are Wyoming, Vermont, Alaska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Delaware, and Montana. Each has three electors with a total of 24 electors. Add to that, five states that have four electors each which are Rhode Island, Maine, New Hampshire, Hawaii and Idaho with a total of 20 electors. Three states with five electors each are West Virginia, Nebraska and New Mexico totaling 15 electors. And six states with six electors each are Kansas, Mississippi, Arkansas, Nevada, Iowa, and Utah with 36. The total electors from these states plus Washington D.C. which equal the population of California have 95 electors. That is 40 more than California.
Today, eleven of the largest states have one-half of the total population of the United States. They have 22 Senators. The other half has 78 Senators. The Senate was called the “greatest deliberating body.” That was never true. It was not true even in “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington,” a 1939 “feel good” Hollywood movie during the Great Depression starring James Stewart and Jean Arthur. It most certainly is not true of the Senate today.
On the first Monday after the second Wednesday in December, this year on Dec. 14, the true election for President and Vice President takes place usually in respective state capitols. Some electors have forgotten this date or couldn’t find the room in which to cast their ballots. In most states, the party that gets the most popular votes are elected in a “winner-take-all-system,” with the exception of Maine and Nebraska, which allocate electors proportionally. Although electors aren’t constitutionally mandated to vote for the winner of the popular vote in their state, it is demanded by tradition and required by law in 26 states and the District of Columbia. In some states, violating this rule is punishable by a $1,000 fine. Over 99 percent of all electors have cast their ballots in line with the voters.
New members of the Congress are sworn in on January 3. On January 6, as a formality, the electoral votes are counted before this new Congress, and on January 20, 2021, the President is sworn into office.
What if no Vice-Presidential candidate receives a majority vote of the electoral college votes? Then the U.S. Senate will select from the two highest with each Senator having one vote. What happens if there’s a tie in the Senate? Good question. Does the presiding Vice President, currently Mike Pence, who is also the President of the Senate, cast a tie breaking vote? The Constitution doesn’t say.
If no Presidential candidate receives a majority, then the House of Representatives will select one from the three highest candidates with each state having just one vote. What? Can a Representative reverse the popular vote of the people? Yes. What happens when there’s an equal number of Republicans and Democrats? If no one receives a majority vote, will the newly elected Vice President be sworn in as President on January 20? Could this new President nominate his own Vice President via the 25th Amendment to the Constitution?
Can the Electoral College be improved? No. It must be completely deleted for philosophically it is against democratic principles. Will it be replaced with a popular vote of the people? It can only be removed from the Constitution via an amendment which is not likely with today’s political climate. Three/fourths of the states must ratify the amendment, and they, the smaller populated states, are not likely to move forward.
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Donation Item Sorting Party
By BRENT ADAMS
As the weather begins to change, our Warming Center Program's donation service also change to reflect the needs of those who sleep outside. We trade warmer clothing for the summer wear people have been requesting and we sort a large stock of newly donated materials.
We'll be gathering at our facility at 150 Felker St. Suite H, Santa Cruz at 12pm, Oct. 31. The session may last as long as 4 hours. We'll have everything you need here, and we'll even spring for a fun pizza party lunch.
If you plan on joining us, please email us or call 588-9892, and we'll be happy to see you on Saturday.
DONATION ITEMS STILL NEEDED:
- Men's pants
- Women's pants size 10 and under
- Jackets, Hoodies, etc.
- Backpacks and duffel bags
- Shoes all sizes (no heels)
Homeless Emergency Hotline: 246-1234
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Photo by TARMO HANNULA
A worker is safely protected while applying an unknown agent onto crops.
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Watsonville City Council urges Santa Cruz County Agricultural Commissioner to post upcoming pesticide applications online
By HEKTOR CALDERON
The Watsonville City Council, on Oct. 27, urged the Santa Cruz County Agricultural Commissioner to post in advance online notices of future pesticide applications. In a 6-1 vote, the council members passed a resolution, “That the City of Watsonville is in strong support of the posting of Notices of Intent online by the Santa Cruz Agricultural Commissioner in advance of [restricted pesticide] applications … and encourages the publication of all Notices of Intent in advance of applications.”
Before California farmers can apply the most hazardous agricultural pesticides, labeled “Restricted Materials" pesticides, they have to submit a “Notice of Intent” to the County Agricultural Commissioner at least 24 hours prior to application. The Ag Commissioner, Juan Hidalgo, can then approve or deny that NOI, after assessing the potential effects of the pesticide on people and the environment. Currently, only the applicants and Ag Commissioner see these NOIs and their approvals or denials. The Watsonville City Council, as well as dozens of community members, called for this information to be made public in advance through online posting on the Ag Commissioner’s website.
Teachers spoke about concerns that schoolchildren are less protected from pesticides at home during shelter-in-place conditions than they were when at schools. They argued that a simple way to help parents better protect their children from hazardous drift would be to post online upcoming pesticide application notices, so that precautions could be taken, including shutting windows or keeping children with asthma indoors.
High school student Eliana Gonzales said, “It really does concern me to think about all the long term effects that these pesticides can have on youth. This is a ‘no-brainer.' Anything that has such an effect on our community’s health should be announced to the public.”
Agricultural Commissioner Juan Hidalgo said, “I do not have resources to dedicate to that work.”
Others responded that this is a low-cost way to provide for needed transparency, as adding or scanning documents to a preexisting website is not taxing and requires no effort on the part of growers.
Watsonville resident Yesenia Molina, who works for a regional technology center commented, “I think we all deserve to know what’s being sprayed and when it’s being sprayed, so we can take action when we need to. I’ve seen how really simple it is to edit webpages and to add documents. High school students are learning how to do this.”
To support this proposal, send an email to Santa Cruz Ag Commissioner Juan Hidalgo and tell him that community members deserve the right to know where toxic chemicals are being applied by having the notices of intent (NOI's) available on the commission website.
Safe Ag Safe Schools is the Monterey Bay regional branch of Californians for Pesticide Reform with committees in Greenfield, Salinas, and Watsonville. The Watsonville SASS group meets the fourth Thursday at 5:30 at 734 East Lake, suite 15 in the Pajaro Valley Federation of Teachers' office.
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Science
HALLOWEEN MOON AND SUN
By JOE JORDAN
Halloween is one of four "cross-quarter days" of the year that are approximately mid-way between an equinox and a solstice. Imagine the solstices, in December and June, as 12 and 6 on a clock face. Then the equinoxes are at 9 and 3, This makes for a plus-sign cross pattern. Diagonal lines then "cross" the middle of each of the four pie-quarters, at about Halloween, Ground Hog Day, May Day, and the August 1 Celtic Lughnasadh festival.
This year, we'll have the extra "treat" on Halloween of a full moon, the second one this month. It's called a "blue moon," but doesn't actually look blue.
Here's your sky homework. Keep an eye on bright Jupiter and dimmer Saturn, up in the southern sky at nightfall. They will be drawing closer and closer to each other in the next two months, heading toward a very close "grand conjunction" when they will crisscross or trade places, coincidentally right on our winter solstice, December 21! Meanwhile, bright-orange Mars is still blazing away over to their east.
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Reported by Emma Hurt, NPR Apr. 14, 2019:
Earlier this year former President Carter sent President Trump a letter with some advice about managing the U.S.-China relationship. Carter oversaw the normalization of diplomatic relations between the countries 40 years ago.
And on Saturday evening, Trump called Carter to talk about it. It was the first time they’d spoken, Carter said. He said Trump said he is particularly concerned about how China is “getting ahead of us.”
Carter agreed that’s true.
“And do you know why? I normalized diplomatic relations with China in 1979. Since 1979 do you know how many times China has been at war with anybody? None. And we have stayed at war,” he said.
The U.S., Carter said, has been at war for all but 16 years of its 242-year history. (China and Vietnam actually fought a brief border war in early 1979, weeks after normalization of U.S.-China relations.)
He called the United States “the most warlike nation in the history of the world,” because of a tendency to try to force others to “adopt our American principles.”
Carter suggested that instead of war, China has been investing in its own infrastructure, mentioning that China has 18,000 miles of high-speed railroad.
“How many miles of high-speed railroad do we have in this country?”
Zero, the congregation answered.
“We have wasted I think $3 trillion,” Carter said of American military spending. “… It’s more than you can imagine. China has not wasted a single penny on war and that’s why they’re ahead of us. In almost every way.
“And I think the difference is if you take $3 trillion and put it in American infrastructure you’d probably have $2 trillion leftover. We’d have high-speed railroad. We’d have bridges that aren’t collapsing, we’d have roads that are maintained properly. Our education system would be as good as that of say South Korea or Hong Kong.
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Sarah's County Covid-19 Report
By SARAH RINGLER
The Santa Cruz County Health Department regularly releases data on the current status of Covid-19 in the county. As of Oct. 29, there were 2,861 cases that tested positive, a 4% increase from Oct. 22. No one died this week so the death count is still 25 individuals.
As of Oct. 27, we have moved into the Orange Tier which allows for more openings. For what that means to the county, click here. For more information on the tiers, go here.
Data remains stable. The county's Effective Reproductive Number continues to stay below one. Numbers above one shows the spread of the virus is increasing. Below one means the spread is decreasing.
To get tested without a doctor’s request, call 1-888-634-1123 or go online at https://lhi.care/covidtesting. The testing clinic is at at Ramsay Park in Watsonville. Other testing sites that may have restricted access can be found here.
To visit the website for the Santa Cruz County Health Department:
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Known cases tested positive by age/% of population:
19 and under - 17%/25%
20-34 - 31%/22%
35-44 - 17%/12%
45-64 - 26%/27%
65 or older - 10%/15%
Tested positive by ethnicity/% of population:
Multi-Race - 1%/3%
White - 17%/58%
Latinx - 64%/34%
Black - .5%/1%
Asian - 1%/4%
Other - 3%/.4%
Unknown - 13%
Tested positive by gender/% of population:
Female - 53%/50%
Male - 47%/50%
Other - 0%
Unknown - 0%
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Weekly increases in positive tests:
June 12-19 - 7%
June 19-26 - 23%
June 26 to July 3 - 22%
July 3-9 - 23%
July 9-16 - 40%
July 16-23 - 20%
July 23-30 - 27%
July 30-Aug. 6 - 13%
Aug. 6-13- 12%
Aug.14-20 - 16%
Aug.20-28 - 10%
Aug. 28-Sept. 3 - 10%
Sept. 3-10 - 6%
Sept. 10-17- 8%
Sept. 17-24 - 7%
Sept. 25- Oct.1 - 5%
Oct. 1 - 9 - 4%
Oct. 9-15 - 4%
Oct. 15-22 - 5%
Oct. 23-29 - 4%
Tested positive by region/% of population:
Mid-county - 18%/12%
North county - 17%/60%
South county - 63%/29%
Under investigation - 3%
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YOUR STORY OR ART HERE: Please submit a story that you think would be of interest to the people of Santa Cruz County. Try and keep the word count to around 400. Also, there should be suggested actions if possible. Submit to coluyaki@gmail.com
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Welcome to Serf City Times. Over time, our county has grown more stratified and divided with many people feeling left out. Housing affordability, racism and low wages are the most obvious factors. However, many groups and individuals in Santa Cruz County work tirelessly to make our county a better place for everyone. These people work on the environment, housing, economic justice, health, criminal justice, disability rights, immigrant rights, racial justice, transportation, workers’ rights, education reform, gender issues, equity issues, electoral politics and more. Often, one group doesn’t know what another is doing. The Serf City Times is dedicated to serving as a clearinghouse for those issues by letting you know what is going on, what actions you can take and how you can support these groups.This is a self-funded enterprise and all work is volunteer.
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