OPINION:
The purpose of electoral voting is to provide fairness in electing the president by granting states a proportionate say in the election process. Otherwise, a few populous states would dictate the outcome of the election, irrespective of how people in states throughout the whole country voted. Well, we have seen the voting maps and we can make the same observations at the state level.
Take Virginia as an example. Here Joe Biden won 54% of the overall popular vote but only 20% of the counties had a majority vote for Mr. Biden. In other words, a few populous counties chose the election for Mr. Biden and 80% of the Virginia counties that voted for Donald Trump never mattered. Eighty percent of Virginia really has no say through the voting process.
This problem also illustrates why Virginia, which has a largely conservative proportionate majority in the state, has devolved into a liberal morass. Most of the state is without a say while a minority of populous counties wag the dog. You can see this same pattern throughout the entire country by looking at the voting maps. (I used the ones on Politico.com.)
It sounds bad when you say that half the country, by voter count, is disenfranchised. But when you say that 80% of the country at the county/community level is disenfranchised, you get a true perspective of how dire the situation is. This is much more serious at the state level because 80% of Virginia effectively has no say in the election of governor, either.
TOM HAGGERTY
Nokesville, Va.
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