2016 Postmortem
In reply to the discussion: The Racist Meme: The South Doesn't Count [View all]EndElectoral
(4,213 posts)Everybody's vote SHOULD count equally, and that's why I am in favor of the popular vote winning elections, BOTH in the primary AND in the General. Had this been so Al Gore would have won the 2000 election without the need for any Supreme Court involvement.
Then a voter in Mississippi/Utah really counts just as much as a voter in Ohio. Unfortunately, with the Electoral College the voter in Missippi/Utah is screwed because his vote is swept up collectively and voted en masse as the winner of that states' popular vote.
For example , say The Dem candidate won a state with 20 electoral votes. It wouldn't matter if the the candidate won 100% to zero or 50.1 to 49.9. They'd still get the same number of electoral votes. Until this antiquated system is replaced with the simple popular vote the system is set up for "swing states" to continue to decide elections, making them to campaigns "more important".
Much more to write on this, but I think the race issue is not where the problem lies here, but in the structure of the Electoral College system making some states much more important due to their closer general election proximities.