"Wolfgang" wrote in message
...

An interesting argument, but it's a bit of a leap, I think, to the
conclusion that simply counting up the individual ballots of all voters
and
declaring the candidate with the majority of votes the winner results in
an
"even more federalist" government.

If, as you say, "...The constitution does not spell out how the states are
to pick their electors...", then there is no legitimate reason that the
individual states' "electors" can't be the voting population as a whole,
is
there?

Wolfgang

Well since the *number* of electors alloted to each state is set by formula
at the national level, the entire voting population of the state couldn't
serve as electors. However, essentially the same end result could ensue in
each state if the state were to choose their electors proportionately to the
voting results in their state. The point I am trying to make is that, under
our form of government, the choice of how to select the electors is a state
decision. Any move by the Federal government to dictate to the states how
they do so is a major move towards greater federalism.


--
Bob Weinberger
La, Grande, OR

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