WHY NEW JERSEY SHOULD ABANDON WINNER-TAKE-ALL ELECTORAL ALLOCATION
Author: Joseph Isola
In the fight for American independence and for the birth of democracy, New Jersey served as the “Crossroad of the Revolution”. Countless Americans died in the over one hundred revolutionary battles that took place in New Jersey. After serving as the heartland of the battle for American independence, New Jersey proudly played a major role in the creation of the American democracy. Yet, today, when it comes to one of the most fundamental democratic values – voting – New Jersey is not the leader that it once strived to be. New Jersey, through the usage of the winner-take-all method of electoral allocation, does not promote representative results, participation in election, or electoral choice. New Jersey has become an unattractive campaign destination for presidential candidates and has left the State unable to influence the presidential selection process. Additionally, this has placed New Jersey in a difficult position to influence national policy in a favorable way for the people of New Jersey. “Presidential candidates spend relatively little time in New Jersey, except to fly in for fundraisers and leave the same day. They really know nothing about [the] state’s issues.” However, by abandoning the winner-take-all method, in favor of the congressional district method, New Jersey can reclaim its position as a leader in promoting democracy and influencing the national political stage.