The University of Mary Washington Debate Team will host a public debate on the topic of abolishing the Electoral College on Thursday, Dec. 1. The event, which is free and open to the public, will begin at 8 p.m. in Monroe Hall, Room 116, on the Fredericksburg campus.
The topic for the debate will be “Resolved: The Electoral College should be abolished.” Debate program members Haley Nystrom’18 and Gabriel Lewis’19 will affirm the resolution, and John Huebler’20 and Parker Coon’19 will negate the resolution. The format includes brief introductory speeches and cross-examination periods, followed by an audience participation segment.
During the audience segment, audience members are welcome to ask questions and voice their opinions. Following that, the debate will conclude with rebuttal speeches by the debaters. The event is part of a series of debates sponsored throughout the academic year by the UMW Public Debate Program. This will be the third public debate event UMW Debate has hosted on campus this semester, in addition to hosting an intercollegiate competition in October. The team will also host additional public debates in the spring semester, as well as an intercollegiate national qualifier tournament.
For more information, contact Adrienne Brovero, director of Debate, at adri.debate@gmail.com or 540-654-2128.
O Anthony says
A survey of Virginia voters showed 74% overall support for a national popular vote for President.
There have been hundreds of unsuccessful proposed amendments to modify or abolish the Electoral College – more than any other subject of Constitutional reform.
To abolish the Electoral College would need a constitutional amendment, and could be stopped by states with as little as 3% of the U.S. population.
Instead, pragmatically, The National Popular Vote bill is 61% of the way to guaranteeing the majority of Electoral College votes and the presidency in 2020 to the candidate who receives the most popular votes in the country, by changing state winner-take-all laws (not mentioned in the U.S. Constitution, but later enacted by 48 states), without changing anything in the Constitution, using the built-in method that the Constitution provides for states to make changes.
All voters would be valued equally in presidential elections, no matter where they live.
Every vote, everywhere, for every candidate, would be politically relevant and equal in every presidential election.
No more distorting and divisive red and blue state maps of predictable outcomes.
The bill would take effect when enacted by states with a majority of the electoral votes—270 of 538.
All of the presidential electors from the enacting states will be supporters of the presidential candidate receiving the most popular votes in all 50 states (and DC)—thereby guaranteeing that candidate with an Electoral College majority.
The bill was approved this year by a unanimous bipartisan House committee vote in both Georgia (16 electoral votes) and Missouri (10).
The bill has passed 34 state legislative chambers in 23 rural, small, medium, large, red, blue, and purple states with 261 electoral votes.
The bill has been enacted by 11 small, medium, and large jurisdictions with 165 electoral votes – 61% of the way to guaranteeing the presidency to the candidate with the most popular votes in the country
NationalPopularVote