It still amazes me how so many Americans have no voice in the process
both in the primaries, where millions of Americans may never get to vote for their candidate of choice before they drop out (thinking here especially of CA, where in most years they only get to make token votes for whoever is left at that point) and also in the general, where if you live in a solidly GOP or Democratic state your vote simply doesn't count AT ALL.
I'm happy that the people of NH and IA have been paying enough attention to the process to become engaged and involved, but I can't help but speculate what our world would look like if every member of a party, regardless of what state they lived in, had an equal vote towards the nominee (and could vote at the beginning of the process, when all the candidates are in) - or what would happen if every American in every state had an equal chance to make their vote count - one voter, one vote, with the winner of the popular vote the winner. As it is now, voters in small states have a huge, in some cases almost double, effect on the results, and voters in small swing states even more. Large, Democrat states like CA and NY have very little effect on the outcome - except their electoral college votes, which might as well be chalked up right now.
It's no wonder that turn out for our elections is low. Can you imagine what kind of turn out we'd have if everyone, and their neighbor, could add to a candidate's success or failure? Suddenly, it would be actually important to get as many people to the polls, everywhere, as possible.
Just a pipe dream. But I would like to live in that democracy.
