The lack of fairness in electing the POTUS!

I have just completed 26 years as a faculty member in one of the largest public universities of Texas. Arriving in August 1979 as a what may be justifiably called “dirt poor” graduate student, I have spent all but my first semester in the USA in Texas. While politics is not my bread and butter, I have been a citizen for 12 years and am a keen observer of the political process in America, one whom you could call the typical “political junkie”. Most of the following observations apply to national politics in the USA, but some are relevant specifically to Texas.

I am amazed that for the past 30 years, there has been hardly any active campaigning activity during Presidential elections in Texas, the third largest and one of the fastest growing states. Typically, early in the process, our state gets written off as a “______ state” and forgotten after that. This year, the same can be said of California, New York, Illinois, and now Michigan as well. All have been classified as the “property” of one party or the other. I find it astounding that the President of the USA can be elected without actively seeking and getting the endorsement of the people of the four largest states in the country. I do know that it happens because of the Electoral College arithmetic and content that it is time to change this flawed procedure in the process of electing our President. One sure fair procedure would be to assign the electoral votes based on % of popular votes polled by each candidate. Another would be to assign based on performance in each congressional district. My own preference would be to completely do away with the Electoral College and elect the people’s President directly, based on the people’s verdict. If any of these three alternatives is implemented, there will be a sea change in campaigning, with nothing short of dog fights breaking out to do well in CA, NY, TX, IL and MI. Now, I can see the question coming: what about the smaller states. My answer to that is: they are well protected by the “Great Compromise” that gives them 2 senators each, resulting in some instances, 2 senators and one congressperson from a state! This provides solid protection to the small states in resource allocation issues. Electing the President, on the other hand, is the right of every citizen and in my opinion, those living in large states are also entitled to have a meaningful experience of the process. What I have been seeing in Texas for the past 30 years is a joke!