Reform of the State of Tennessee's Electoral College

To:  Tennessee Governor and Tennessee General Assembly Members

This petition is to bring about reform to the State of Tennessee's electoral college process. We propose that the 11 electoral votes cast in the State of Tennessee be dispersed according to popular voting percentages. Percentages will always round down. This way, a candidate who comes in second place in our state with 45% of the popular vote would receive 45% of the electoral votes (5 electoral votes), instead of 0% (0 electoral votes).
Each electoral vote would be valued at approximately 9.09 voter percentage points under the current number eleven(11) of electoral votes designated to the State of Tennessee.
[Approximately 9.09%=1 electoral vote]

An example: (Leaving out independents for simplification purposes only) In 1996 Bill Clinton won the electon with a 2.41% victory margin in the state of Tennessee.
Clinton--51.205% Dole--48.795%
All eleven (11) electoral votes went to him. Under the proposed changes to the current State of Tennessee's electoral college system, Clinton would have recieved six (6) electoral votes and Dole would have recieved five (5) electoral votes.

Although this system will not accomplish a "1 man, 1 vote" because an electoral vote cannot be split, it does bring about a more accurate representation of the votes cast in the State of Tennessee. In having all percentages round down, we honor the present tradition of "winner takes all" in our state. This system would greatly increase voter turnout and the representation of all parties in our state. It would also encourage candidates to campaign in our state rather than just those that are competitive. Though the majority, as always, would come out on top in Tennessee, the minority's supporters would not be effectively contributing to their candidate's defeat when the whole of their state's electoral votes go to a candidate they do not support.

Sincerely,

The Undersigned

The Reform of the State of Tennessee's Electoral College Petition to Tennessee Governor and Tennessee General Assembly Members was created by and written by Jason Klavenga (jklavenga@yahoo.com).  This petition is hosted here at www.PetitionOnline.com as a public service. There is no endorsement of this petition, express or implied, by Artifice, Inc. or our sponsors. For technical support please use our simple Petition Help form.