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Sen. Bill Nelson: Abolish Electoral College |
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By J. Taylor Rushing
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Posted: 03/27/08 11:33 AM [ET] |
Seeking to end perpetual controversy in his party and his state, Florida Sen. Bill Nelson (D) on Thursday called for ending the Electoral College system and replacing it with a series of six regional primaries based on direct, popular vote.
Nelson unveiled his proposal in a speech before the Florida Senate — the same legislative body that sparked the current standoff between the Democratic presidential candidates and the state parties in Florida and Michigan. Under his plan, six rotating, regional primaries would select presidential candidates, while the Electoral College would be abolished by a constitutional amendment. He plans to submit legislation in the Senate, in partnership with Sen. Carl Levin (D-Mich.).
“As to our right to vote, and have that vote count, there can be no debate,” Nelson said. “The goal is simple: One person, one vote.”
Nelson also proposed eliminating voting machines in any state that does not produce a paper trail, as well as establishing early voting and absentee ballot voting in all 50 states.
The Florida and Michigan legislatures voted last year to move their primaries ahead of Super Tuesday, contrary to party rules. The Democratic National Committee (DNC) stripped both states of their delegates, while the Republican National Committee stripped the states of half of their delegates. That has pitted the campaigns of Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) and Barack Obama (D-Ill.) against each other as the Democratic race remains close deep into the primary calendar.
Nelson has tried to untangle the mess several times. He unsuccessfully sued the DNC and its chairman Howard Dean last fall over the dispute, and this winter he proposed a mail-in re-vote that party leaders eventually quashed. He said Thursday he is now asking the national party to award half of the state’s delegates to Clinton and Obama based on the Jan. 29 primary results.
“My fight has been based on the principle that in America every citizen has an equal right to vote,” he said. “It is based on a belief that we all deserve a say in picking our presidential nominees.”
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