Ballot Measures

Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.) introduced a bill on Friday that would banish the countrys 220-year-old Electoral College system, allowing voters instead to directly elect the president.
[IMGCAP(1)]Its time for Congress to really give Americans the power of one-person, one-vote, instead of the political machinery selecting candidates and electing our president, Nelson said in a statement.
Former Sen. Birch Bayh (D-Ind.), father of Sen. Evan Bayh (D-Ind.), made two high-profile pushes for direct-vote bills in the 1970s.
Nelsons call for bypassing the Electoral College comes less than a week after the Democratic National Committees Rules and Bylaws panel punished the Sunshine State for moving up its primary. In the wake of the prolonged fight over Florida and Michigan, which also was penalized Nelson also is pushing early- voting mandates and the creation of a regimented regional primary calendar.
Matthew Murray