Virginia Electoral College Rigging Scheme Would Further Disenfranchise Minority Voters

[Bill USA]

http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2013/01/28/1503101/virginia-electoral-college-rigging-scheme-would-further-disenfranchise-minority-voters/

(emphasis my own)

As the Virginia Senate’s Privileges and Elections Committee prepares to take up a bill to rig bill the state’s electoral college vote, Democrats and even Republicans are distancing themselves from the effort, calling it “a bad idea,” “skewing,” and a “partisan bill aimed at defying the will of the voters.” A ThinkProgress analysis of Virginia voter demographics reveals another major flaw with the proposal: it would significantly dilute the influence of minority voters.

The 2012 Virginia Congressional maps, authored by Delegate Robert Bell (R) based on the 2010 U.S. Census, divided the state’s estimated 8,001,024 people into 11 Congressional districts. Though the state population is more than 20 percent African American — and more than 31 percent non-white — just one Congressional district contains a majority of non-white voters (the Third District, which is majority African American). Though white non-Hispanic Virginians makeup just 68.6 percent of the population, they comprise at least 58 percent of the population in all of the other 10 districts.

While many of the electoral college-rigging schemes being pushed by Republicans nationally would still allocate two electors based on the popular winner in the state — the Virginia plan would not even do that. State Sen. Charles “Bill” Carrico Sr.’s Senate Bill 723 would allocate 11 electors based on the popular winner in each of the House districts and two to whichever candidate won the majority of those gerrymandered House districts.

So, with more than one-fifth of the population, African American Virginians would go from having about 20 percent of the say to just controlling one-thirteenth of the state’s electoral votes under the Carrico plan. And racial minority voters overall would go from having about 31 percent of the say, to also controlling just 7.7 percent of the state’s electors.(more)

[liberal N proud]

1. That spells success for a republican

[King_Klonopin]

2. The Electoral College functions (barely)

because it is corrected and weighted according to population
of each state, and it applies to every state in the country.

If these racist states get their way, Black folks are going to
be relegated back to being "3/5ths of a person" once
again... but only in the swing states where republicans
lost.

Romney won 24 states, all really big in size (not population)
Obama won 26 states + D.C.
Sounds close, doesn't it?

Romney won 59.1 million votes.
Obama won 62.6 million votes.
Not so close after all.

Romney won 206 E.C. votes.
Obama won 332 E.C. votes.
That looks like a stomping-of-the-balls, I would say.

Republicans are still trying to convince people that
"dirt votes" (i.e. all the "red" areas in a state -- which
represents dirt, not people who voted.)

Elections are decided by VOTES -- NOT GEOGRAPHIC AREAS!

[ck4829]

3. Must be just a coincidence

[rhett o rick]

4. No Shit?? Why else would they do it? nm