The electoral college is a time-honored system that has only produced results in conflict with the popular vote three times in over 200 years. However, it's obvious that reforms are needed. The organization of the states should be altered. This Electoral Reform Map redivides the territory of the United States into 50 bodies of equal size. The 2000 Census records a population of 281,421,906 for the United States. The states ranged in population from 493,782 to 33,871,648.1 In this map, new states have formed, all with equal populations of roughly 5,617,000.2
Advantages of this proposal
- Ends overrepresentation of small states and underrepresention of large states in presidental voting and in the US Senate.
- Preserves the historical structure of the electoral college and the United States unique federal system, balancing power between levels of government.
- States could be redistricted after each census - just like house seats are distributed now.
Disadvantages
- Some county names are duplicated in new states.
- Local governments would have to deal with shift in state laws and procedures.
Alaska and Hawaii are part of the states of Olympia and Coronado, respectively.
1. Wyoming and California, respectively
2. Every effort was made to place major cities and their close-in suburbs in a single state, leading to slight variences in state sizes. Each state shown has a population between 5.4 and 5.635 million, according to Census 2000 figures. Most are 5.616 million. The District of Columbia is preserved as it is.