Women voters to share information about the Electoral College
La Crosse Tribune: Jane Powell | Published on 9/7/2024
We citizens are often puzzled by these civic history questions. Why does this matter? Because we are living in a time of historic change. We are bombarded with messages that both encourage us to vote but at the same time we wonder, “What’s the use?”
I believe the more we understand voting and our place in it, the more empowered we are to make our voice count.
The Founding Fathers created the Electoral College through a series of compromises with the expectation of creating a deliberative body of representatives from each state to elect the president. However, soon a two-party system developed and the majority party did not want to give votes to the minority party. This “winner take all” method of awarding votes has brought us to our current system of “safe” and “swing” states.
The League of Women Voters works to empower voters and defend democracy. This translates into voting in every election — national to local — no matter the state you live in, because all elected offices are important to our daily lives.
Join us Sept. 11 to learn about The Electoral College: It’s History and Relevance in Modern Elections. Information at lwvlacrosse.org.
Jane Powell is the current president of the LWV of the La Crosse Area.