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Every Vote Equal
(Mountain View, CA): National Popular Vote Press, 2013. ISBN 097901073X. New; still in shrinkwrap. Octavo, wraps, 1060 pp. No flaws. Pristine and immaculate. LT-4
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First published December 20, 2006
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
November 24, 2024
You can also see this review, along with others I have written, at Mr. Book's Book Reviews.
Mr. Book just finished Every Vote Equal, by John R. Koza.
This edition of the book was published in 2013, but everything in it is just as true today and relevant today as it was then.
This was an excellent encyclopedic view of the problems with the electoral college and why we replace it with the interstate compact that would award the presidency to the candidate with the most popular votes.
The best parts of the book were a look at what would happen if states assigned their electoral vote proportionally—either using decimals (which would require a constitutional amendment) or whole numbers (which would not)—and an extremely long look at all of the arguments against going to a popular vote and explaining why they are all based on myths.
I give this book an A+ and inducted it into the Hall of Fame.
Goodreads requires grades on a 1-5 star system. In my personal conversion system, an A+ equates to 5 stars. (A or A+: 5 stars, B+: 4 stars, B: 3 stars, C: 2 stars, D or F: 1 star).
This review has been posted at my blog, Mr. Book’s Book Reviews, and Goodreads.
Mr. Book originally finished reading this on November 24, 2024.
Mr. Book just finished Every Vote Equal, by John R. Koza.
This edition of the book was published in 2013, but everything in it is just as true today and relevant today as it was then.
This was an excellent encyclopedic view of the problems with the electoral college and why we replace it with the interstate compact that would award the presidency to the candidate with the most popular votes.
The best parts of the book were a look at what would happen if states assigned their electoral vote proportionally—either using decimals (which would require a constitutional amendment) or whole numbers (which would not)—and an extremely long look at all of the arguments against going to a popular vote and explaining why they are all based on myths.
I give this book an A+ and inducted it into the Hall of Fame.
Goodreads requires grades on a 1-5 star system. In my personal conversion system, an A+ equates to 5 stars. (A or A+: 5 stars, B+: 4 stars, B: 3 stars, C: 2 stars, D or F: 1 star).
This review has been posted at my blog, Mr. Book’s Book Reviews, and Goodreads.
Mr. Book originally finished reading this on November 24, 2024.
December 9, 2023
An excellent book for what it is. The National Popular Vote is an idea whose time may finally have come. Most Americans have access to multiple channels of communication, from broadcast television and radio to electronic media of many types. There's no reason for ignorance of a candidate's plans, programs and proposals. We no longer need to cross the Rockies on mules in a winter blizzard to deliver the votes to Washington, DC. Voting should be easy; choice should be broad; vote counting should be quick and reliable.
July 25, 2014
Disclosure: I received this book in the mail.
Double disclosure: I have no idea why and that was probably the only reason I read it.
PRO: This book is very thorough. Very thorough.
CON: The fact that it is thorough is kind of meaningless. There are two assumed major premises: (1) Presidential elections would be better if every vote was weighted equally or, phrased another way, if the majority vote of the country elected the president. (2) Proposed constitutional amendments have shown themselves empirically to be unable to address this problem because they have not been enacted.
If you agree with the two of those, then there's really no point in going any further other than to say, "Yeah, let's do an interstate compact."
The real argument is whether there's some value in disintermediating the electorate from the results. Of course, that argument is also pretty boring as both sides' positions and rationales are pretty clear.
Double disclosure: I have no idea why and that was probably the only reason I read it.
PRO: This book is very thorough. Very thorough.
CON: The fact that it is thorough is kind of meaningless. There are two assumed major premises: (1) Presidential elections would be better if every vote was weighted equally or, phrased another way, if the majority vote of the country elected the president. (2) Proposed constitutional amendments have shown themselves empirically to be unable to address this problem because they have not been enacted.
If you agree with the two of those, then there's really no point in going any further other than to say, "Yeah, let's do an interstate compact."
The real argument is whether there's some value in disintermediating the electorate from the results. Of course, that argument is also pretty boring as both sides' positions and rationales are pretty clear.
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February 23, 2019Read only select references in text. Good info.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews