Election: Third parties show folly of electoral college

The winner-take-all system for electoral delegates in Washington denies state voters fair representation in presidential elections. We need a method of proportional assignment of delegates.

Proponents of the status quo see no need to change the electoral college since it rarely votes differently than the popular vote. They’re overlooking a big problem on the horizon. What if there are three, or even four, popular candidates in the presidential race?

The Green Party and Libertarian Party are looking at record showings in the election. Gary Johnson, the Libertarian candidate most Americans have never heard of, is already polling at 12 percent. The two parties are fracturing into deeply divided factions. We’ll see much more diversity in our presidential elections going forward.

What of the electoral college? In a four-way race for president, one candidate may win with as little as 26 percent and win all of the Washington delegates. There would be zero voice in the election for 74 percent of Washington.

It is time Washington state began dividing up its delegates proportionally and push Congress to require all states to as well. We should ultimately eliminate the electoral college and have a popular vote.

This story was originally published June 20, 2016 at 9:42 AM with the headline "Election: Third parties show folly of electoral college."