Donald Trump Is Elected President
My entire family feels a terrible sadness today. We immigrated here to the United States from Russia almost 20 years ago (to the day) and after all the immigration bullshit we were finally eligible for citizenship this year. My dad took his oath and got his US passport literally weeks before the election and this is what he gets for his first vote: a divisive demagogue beat a corrupt career politician. There are no words to describe our disappointment, both at the choices and the result.<p>For those that are unhappy with the results of this election, there is something you can do! I implore you to write, call, and otherwise pester your state legislators and your governors to pressure them to support the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact [1]. This is an interstate agreement approved by the Justice Department that activates when states with 270 or more electoral college votes sign it (by passing state legislation that implements the compact). When it activates, all of the states that signed it will, from that point on, allocate their votes for the presidential candidate that won the national popular vote, essentially destroying the electoral college. Already, the states that signed the compact have a total of 160 electoral college votes and legislation is in the works for Michigan and Pennsylvania, which would bring the total to over 180. Already a <i>third</i> of all electoral votes are part of this compact!<p>Take it from someone who has spent two decades on the sideline: you are not powerless. So few people make their voices heard that every voice counts when you&#x27;re one of 50 or 100 state senators representing a state of a few million. With Trump&#x27;s divisiveness front and center <i>this is it.</i> For the first time since the Voting Rights Act we have a chance to fundamentally change American democracy and we can do so in a way that cannot be obstructed by conservative states or dismantled by conservative Supreme Court justices.<p>Even if you are happy with the results of this election, I beg you to support the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact. It&#x27;s time we started to reform our electoral system and restore some of the legitimacy it has lost in the last few decades.<p>[1] <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;en.m.wikipedia.org&#x2F;wiki&#x2F;National_Popular_Vote_Interstate_Compact" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;en.m.wikipedia.org&#x2F;wiki&#x2F;National_Popular_Vote_Inters...</a>