I totally agree, a time zone vote would be the best, all polls would close at the same time. The next time zone could be first in the next election and so on. It has pros and cons. Ex: Kennedy won the electorial vote, lost the popular, Gore won the popular vote, lost the electorial. So you can see what could happen.

this man, he speaks so wisely on this issue

At last someone is talking some sense. With an increasingly polarized country, we need such bills to ensure that every citizen's voice is heard.

This man is out to lunch!

The electoral college was developed by the framers to make sure that populas states did not overwhelm the smaller states in every national election. It is a central part of our election process and a control over mob rule.

It will never happen anyway. It takes 2/3 of each chamber of Congress and 3/4 of the States to ratify. There is no way the small states would ever agree to such an amendment even if you could get the 2/3 vote.

This guy is a quack!

Is anyone proofreading these articles?

If we get rid of the Electoral College System that will leave states likeNew York ( with New York City) and California ( LA ) to dictate to the rest of the country who the presidents will be based on populations alone. Leave the system alone, let the rest off the country in on the vote.

ha ha..i wonder why..your candidate lost..

You go Bill Nelson. We need more open minded and good common sense people like you to represent the interests of this nation and its people. This is a great idea and it will make our election proccess fair.
I am on your side for you are on the side of reasoning.

"Life is a journey not a destiny."

Jean
Miami Gardens, FL

A change in primaries is a real possibility, but the electoral college change will never fly. The little states devoid of people will block that one.

I am a 23 year old. I am living in a very blue state and feel that my vote is worthless. So I simply don't vote. I never have and I never will (at least as long as the Electoral College still runs the show)This "one person, one vote" idea is exactly the thing we need to get people involved and excited that they could have a say in our government. A govenment that is very broken!

Sen. Nelson shows an amazing misunderstanding of the wisdom of the founding fathers. The Electoral College prevents smaller–less populous–states from being marginalized and ignored in the general election. That's why changing it is important enough to require a constitutional amendment. Go ahead and fix–if you can–the flawed primary process, run by the parties. But leave our republic and its electoral process alone.

They knew in advance that the shouldn't have moved their primaries up early.

Yes!

Thanks Hillary. Another one of your tactics backfired on you.

We do need a total reform of our election laws. I would love to see the Electoral College gone. And the Superdelegates, also.

They way we run primaries now gives the little guy with no money a chance to compete with the big spenders. Huckabee would have gotten nowhere if he had to campaign in a large area with a large population first.

THANK GOD SOMBODY REALIZES THAT THE CURRENT SYSTEM IS VERY BAD

THIS IS NOT DEMOCRACY

GO HILLARY

HILLARY FOR PRESIDENT

They should do away with superdelegates, delegates and vote all one one day and whoever wins the popular vote should be the nominee. It seems to work everywhere else? Why not here in USA?

If you do the math, New Hampshire and Iowa would not come close to electing a nominee on their own. The other states need to also have their say. I think the real problem is that Florida and Michigan wanted to be the "first" to tell the nation who should be the nominee. Changing the rules by breaking the rules 1) does not make you credible to even allow people to take you seriously or 2)is the democratic way of changing things. Laws are made for a reason.

I agree with the one person = one vote.
But then, you will always have a President chosen by either Florida, New York or California… Small States would be all but discarded…

Richmond, Va
I hardly think Nelson has any credibility or integrity if he is pushing for the "rules to be changed in the middle of the game"!! We can all see how this super delegate and electoral college system we now have is a disaster when people with money and clout (the Clintons) abuse the intent of such a system.

So, yes change it but NOT in the middle of this election!!!! Who is he supporting anyway!

And get off the Wright thing. Those who regularly attend church and believe in God/other deities, know that it is up to each person to develop their own personal relationship with that Higher Power! !! The media and Clinton (it's hard to distinguish) need to stop inflaming this and the racial issues!!

You don't have to be a Clinton supporter to see that regional primaries make sense. I am an Obama supporter, but obviously the system is broken and reform is needed. Four rotating, regional primaries - 1 per month in March through June - makes a ton of sense. The candidates have time to devote to all states without having to run a 6-8 month marathon as is happening now. All regions of the nation will get a chance to be in the spotlight and all Americans will be much better represented.

We see right through ya……..your candidate lost!

yes, Sen Nelson banning to Electoral Collage would be good for country it's needed. The United State wouldn't be in the mess it in now

DUMP the Electoral College, … AND, the Superdelegates!

One man(woman), one vote is our Constitutional priciple and LAW!

Respect the constitution! Respect the will of the people, in this our "… country of the people, by the people, and, for the people, …".

Good ideas, but it will never happen. While I agree the primary season needs a 100% overhaul, unfortunately, it will be a great undertaking for a popular vote presidential election vs the electorial college. The DNC needs to CLOSE their primaries to registered Democrats and Independents AND each state needs to have something in place saying that if you voted Dem in the primary, you need to vote Dem in the general election. That will stop people from crossing over just to try and get a perceived weaker candidate against their actual candidate of choice. We may also think about having Democrat and Republican primaries at the same time to help prevent that as well. Just a thought.

I love this man.

Wow, someone with some common sense!

Sen Nelson: we need the popular vote and do away with the electoral
vote or collage. i would like very much to see this i.m 62 years old and my vote has never been counted. its about time change is good and this system needs changing.

change the system only if it means for the next election DONT CHANGE IT FOR THIS ELECTION .THOSE TWO STATES KNEW WHAT THE LAW READS AND TO CHANGE IT SO THE DELEGATES CAN VOTE IN THIS ELECTION NOW WOULD BE CANCEROUS.

You know what the flaw in the nominating system is Bill? Arrogant and impudent politicians like yourself that ignore national democratic rules and then have the audacity to fully place the blame of "Florida disenfranchisement" on anyone but the Florida Legislature that is truly responsible. I hope no one even considers your pipe-dream plan, mostly because you're an unashamed hypocrite and taking election advice from someone in Florida is laughable.

This is a fix it Idea from some one from Florida? You got to be kidding.
They have not gotton an election right the last 2 times, what makes this fool think the rest of the country wants anything to do with a voiting idea out of Florida

Thank you! It would be great to finally get rid of caucuses and the Electoral College, both at one time!!! This would end all of the craziness going on in the two parties and let the average American finally have a real say in who our leaders are.

I agree with the person who stated that Bill Nelson does not understand our Constitution. As a Floridian, I cannot vote for Bill Nelson again. Our founding fathers created a republic, not a democracy. They saw the dangers of a democracy. Hence the Electoral College and not just a popular vote.

Within our republic, we have democracy; that is our voices can be heard. Changing the primaries are fine. That can be done without legislation. The DNC and RNC can change their rules as to when and how they are held. FYI, primaries are not in the Constitution. That is something that has developed over the years as a way for parties to select their candidate. Changing those can and should be done as needed. However, the only people that are complaining that the primaries need to change are the ones that broke the rules.

This Nelson character along with the democrats responsible for the mess in Florida and Michigan should have nothing to do with the voting process ever again. It would be like the fox guarding the hen house.

Obama 08

Unfortunately, while I agree that some kind of change is in order, the effect of moving to 6 regional primaries would be to make sure my vote had no meaning except once every 24 yrs. As a NC voter it already holds no meaning: all the candidates are long gone by the time I vote; nevertheless, once in 24 years isn't exactly what I had in mind to better the situation. Why don't we all vote on the same day? Or randomize the order of state primaries between elections? Either would be fairer than what we've got or what is now proposed. Also, the Electoral college has decided the presidency only 5 times in our nation's history . Caucuses, voter intimidation, and ballot fraud are bigger issues.

It would be great to dump the electoral college and the super delegates. I've been around a long time and remember that prior to each election, then often right after each election, the politicians have these conversations, but nothing ever changes.

The electoral college was originally created when communications from outlying states would literally take weeks to get back to the capitol. Representatives in the capitol would vote to get the new president seated more quickly. These days, the college isn't necessary. The problem is that the electoral college also gives states who don't have as large a population as others more weight in the election process. Those states won't give this power up easily. it will take a change to the Constitution to disband the electoral college. That will require each state to vote to do it. There are enough states around that WANT the college that this change won't take place easily.

Don't hold your breath to see the college disappear….

I just heard on Ed Shultz's show that a Obama pledged delegate for the caucus got an email from Hillary to attend a call today with Hillary at 4:30. She's trying to convert pledged delegates. This has to be stopped. This process is messed up and she's trying to do anything to win. She'll never have my vote and I won't come back to her if she steals the nomination.

The Electoral College disenfranchizes voters and should have been done away with a long time ago. The primaries should be a Caucus system, limited to registered members of their respective parties. This would prevent shenanigans like Republicans crossing party lines to vote for candidates who they think are beatable in the general elections.

truth be told & Joe,

You don't think the small states get marginalized already. This thing becomes about the populous states who are roughly divided equally between Dem & Rep or Dem, Rep, & independents. Those are Florida, Missouri, Ohio, & Pennsylvania. There are probably some others, but everyone knows about the ones I named.

I'd prefer to see there be some way to equalize the difference between big states and little states that has a similar effect to the current electoral college where they count total # of representatives to Congress, but if there isn't a workable solution, then the increase in voter participation which will also impact issues down ballot is more than worth it.

I hope he will add that caucuses be dropped from the election process. These only allow a small percentage of the population to voice their votes.

You think Florida was bad, with the State margin being just a few hundred votes.

Try having a national election where is a margin is that small, and every county in the country has to recount.

I'm laughing just thinking about it.

The Electoral College is here to stay, and hurray for that.

More rhetoric from the Clinton Camp!!

Florida cannot be thought of any serious manner — they can't even manage to "vote" period — speaking of years 2000/2004 and 2008!

Nelson should be giving tutorials to Foridans on how to vote and leave the politics to the "real" politicians.

This Senator Nelson guy not only looks scary, but he is scary. What is amazing is how did he get the senate seat in Florida. Every time I see him he gives me the willy's.

Go Hillary!!!

Hey George, have you caucused??? It is a joke!!

I agree about the Republicans crossing party lines. That should be stopped. That is one of Carl Roves and Rush's brilliant ideas.

If they register Democrat then they should be handed a ballot with only the Democrats on it in the General Election. That would stop the BS.

Yep just like in the O.J. Simpson trial, it's time to change the laws once a black & white person clashes.

Domestic violence was never introduced as legislation until the O.J. Simpson trial.

Just like Tiger Woods the changed the golf course at the Masters was made longer just so Tiger could lose but he with stood the challenge and won the torment.

Barack will with stand the challenge as well and come out on top as the winner.

You wonder why blacks all ways feel there is no justice in America.

Ever wonder why they make rules and guidelines? Florida and Michigan obiously don't because they don't seem to be able to follow them. I think that it is perfectly fair what the democratic and repulican national committees did though I do feel sorry for the people of the state. I also think that Florida and Michigan should really consider who they elect in their upcoming elections (whenever that may be) and ensure someone that is there for the people and not the limelight is elected.

Rick, Huckabee still got no where!

He will make a good VP.

I don't care who you support, it should be painfully obvious by now to everyone that our election system is broken. If the system was reformed as Nelson proposes, the regional primaries would allow smaller states to have their say without being marginalized, bigger states would no longer unfairly set the tone for or discourage voters next in line, the candidates might play better together and "one person, one vote" might actually mean something. Other countries around the world do it all the time. Let's discard the outdated bureaucracy and red tape, and have a real election with meaningful results that truly represent the people of this country, each and every one.

Concerning the Electoral College, there are still laws on the books in many U.S. cities about where you can and can't tie your horse up in town. Just because they exist and had a real purpose and effect when they were enacted doesn't mean we should keep them unaltered until the end of time. The writers of The Constitution were wise, brave and learned men. They were also very forward looking men with bold, new ideas. Do Americans really think they would not be willing to give the Electoral College a second look if they were here today?

How does someone get elected to the Senate without ever reading the Constitutiion?

Renee — She is giving a speach in Raleigh and throughout NC I doubt she can be in two places at one time. Get you info straight.

We preach democracy around the world. We even start wars in the name of democracy and our brave soldiers are killed in the name of democracy. But we don't practice it at home! How can we preach democracy with a straight face, while we disenfranchise our citizens who produce a majority vote by electing a President who received the minority vote? That system may have made sense a couple of hundred years ago, but not in the 21st century. It is time we follow what we preach! Good luck, Senator Nelson!

Poor Nelson, he's scared this whole thing will backfire on him and now he wants to change the constitution over strategic blunder by Florida Dems…. Rules are rules, they cannot be changed everytime someone does something stupid and needs to be bailed out. These rules were set over 18 month before the election, they had enough time to evaluate the consequences..payday is now, you cannot try to twist the DNC's arm intoo granting your wish or else next time many more states will follow suite, and the Dem party will become a chicken parlour.

None of this will fly with the small states which means the bill for reforms won't get through the Senate.

The Constitutional Amendment has even less chance since it requires ratification by the state legislatures of states like NH, Iowa, SC, etc.

The ideas are fine - if you live in California or New York or Florida or…

You become irrelevant if you live in a small state.

People you have no clue and to how the primaries work. You have no rights whatsoever to be included should the party decide to trash the current system and leave it up to party leaders to select the nominee.

We have voted and nobody won. Neither have enough delegates nor will they when the last ballot is cast. Its a draw. Move on to phase two of the process, let the supers vote and don't tell them how to vote the will of the people was heard and NOBODY won.

As for the Electoral College, trash it. It is outdated and does not address the evolution of the United States.

The people who voted in Fl and MI were NOT the only ones who were "disenfranchised" The people who did not vote were also because they followed the rules.

I agree that the primaries could be done in a much better way . The FEB 5th strategy to get a candidate early failed. It was skewed toward Clinton since she was the better known person at the time. I think it is better for the primaries to be spread out more . 23 states in 1 day . look what that got us, a long protracted fight.

I think the smaller states like Iowa and NH, need to go first so the unknown people can afford to campaign, and do retail politics. I'm not sure it needs to be those two, but it needs to be a couple of smaller states, and Nevada and SC were chosen for diversity reasons.

When you get to bigger states the costs of campaigning go way up so less known candidates would not have a chance if they were early .

That makes entirely too much sense. A nation of individuals having their individual votes tallied and applied to the candidates. Not a nation of STATE RESIDENTS or PARTY VOTERS or ELECTORATES, but individuals with a single vote. It would open up third and fourth parties to contention and might result in America resembling an actual Democracy! Entirely too much sense. It'll never happen.

Thank you Gary for pointing out we are a REPUBLIC and not a Democracy - something that has been ignored for 100 years in popular vernacular. A republic requires representation of the "popular vote" from one's region as opposed to just the popular vote.

Someone later pointed out that this is unnecessary now since technology makes it possible for the entire population to gather - something impossible in previous times, thus requiring representation. (change?)

I love the comment that a close vote would require the entire country to "recount ballets" and how funny (and controversial) it would all end up being. (Thanks "other Dan")

Additionally, a republic allows a representative to vote the will of their area - something we expect to reflect how the majority of their constituents voted. That means they represent not only those who lined up and formally cast a vote, but the general public who did not as well.

A minority group, say African Americans as an example, have greater representation in a republic than they do in a democracy because it is harder to shout down their voice by the sheer volume of majority - thanks to this equal representation (or, "more equal" to be more accurate).

The changes need to be in the primary processes, not the Constitution.

Bravo - encore. I think this is a great idea. As with many things….times they are a changin'. Its not like it used to be when the constitution was written and the majority of Americans simply had no idea what was going on (well - maybe its not so different after all)….but we have an unlimited amount of resources available for all of us to make a well thought out decision.

I love the idea of a rotating lottery system. Great idea. This could change our entire spectrum of how politics works….how they pander to certain areas differently etc. Could increase participation in both parties - ultimately….could be a great thing for America.

Let's reform the primary system:

1) Get rid of caususes… they prevent thousands of people from voting… that's why the general election is a primary, not a caucus

2) Have proportional allocation of the delegates in every state so voters in each state get to see the candidates campaign and get to have a say in who becomes our next president

3) Every state should be a semi-closed primary (only independents and voters belonging to the party holding the primary can vote, not members of the other party)

4) Upon turning 18, everyone should be automatically registered to vote (as an Independent…. they can then switch to a political party)…. if we can't automatically register everyone, then voting registration should be allowed through the day of the primary instead of an arbitrary cut off date

5) Changing party affiliation should be cut off by December 31st of the year prior to the election year

All I can say is IT'S ABOUT TIME. The lunacy of primaries has become apparant this year and the electoral college should have been eliminated 50 years ago.

In the words on Glenn Beck: "Too Bad." Florida, you agreed to set your own rules in the beginning and then played by them; deal with it. And voter disenfranchisement is not a valid argument when the voters of Florida elected the officals who made this historic case of mis-judgement. Congratulations Flordia, you have managed to throw ANOTHER wrench in the election proces..

Don't get rid of the Electoral College….. it really does help Democrats.

Most blue states are the large states with the most electoral votes… therefore, all Republican votes in the large states are meaningless…. I wouldn't want these Republican votes to actually start counting

With the Electoral College, Democrats only need to go after and campaign in the swing states like Florida, Ohio, and PA…. it makes their job easier

we're going to take advice from the person that started all this mess?!?!?!

trying to cover up your HUGE GAFF?!?!

GO SOMEWHERE!!!

The primaries are not the responsibility of the federal government. The national parties work with the states to establish the primary format, rules, participation requirements, and the timing. If the primaries are broken the parties (DNC/GOP) should address the problems not the federal government.

While I do not agree with abolishing the Electoral College at least it is within the purview of the federal government. Send the legislation forward and let's have the debate.

The electoral college prevents the presidency from being dominated by people whose policies only appeal to large urban populations. If it were eliminated, places like Utah and Wyoming would never see a presidential candidate again. This is as close to guaranteeing that our president is a president to all of us that we're ever going to get. Abolish it, and NYC, San Francisco, Chicago, and LA will run the country. Not a good prospect for someone living in the southwest. The bottom line is that we can rail on it until our faces turn blue but in order to get rid of it, the very people who would lose power would have to vote for it. Since that will simply never happen, you're best to save your breath. I do like his other ideas of rotating the primaries around. Iowa and New Hampshire have dominated that for far too long.

I'm all for abolishing the Electoral College. Where is it written ANYwhere that this process is needed? Why can't the President of the United States be voted for exclusively by popular vote? What difference does it make from which State the vote came from?

Nor do I think primaries need to be held on a rotating basis. One day, all States vote all at once. No results are released until the last State's polls are closed, on penalty of FCC license revocation (yes, we're looking at you, broadcast morons).

Let's take back our elections and vote for the government we're supposed to have, rather than pandering to 'electors'. We're the electors, folks. No one else's opinion should matter.

Gary makes a good point on the founding fathers - they were scared as hell of giving the people all the power.

The beauty of the US Constitution they created is that it takes a serious majority (2/3) to change the constitution via amendment. This makes sure that the opinions of the simple majority don't trample the rights of the minority (most of the time).

On the other hand, the problem with the US Constitution is that in times of crisis, we are paralyzed from making meaningful change (with the exception of Presidential wartime powers). It is why even if Democrats sweep the Senate, House, and Presidency, the Republican packed Supreme Court will hold serious change back.

If you want real change, we need to change the system. We did it before in 1913 when the 17th Amendment allowed the people to vote for Senators. Now its time to remove the other block on the people's power, the electoral college, so that all American votes count.

The problem is that the only time any politician want s to change it is after they lost (Gore, this guy Nelson, and now Hilary if she loses the nomination).

ANOTHER HILLARY LOVER AND CHEATER.

Looking to bend the rules anyway possible.

GO BACK TO SPACE BILL NELSON.

So, let me understand this…now we have to amend the constitution if that's what it takes for Hillary to win?

Changing the Electoral College would be like trying to change the BCS of College Football. Wishful thinking, but it will not happen.

Should we also do away with the Senate? It gives the same number of votes to all states regardless of size or population.

Many people arguing against this will say that it's unfair to abolish the electoral college because it will give states like CA, FL, and NY too much control since they have such a large percentage of the population. Please tell me why this is a problem? This proposed system will basically remove the notion of State's rights and be more democratic system. I'm sorry, but why shouldn't majority rule?

This law, like many others was created during a much different time in our history. We need the people to stand up along with brave politicians to modify our system and get rid of the old, outdated laws.

I completely agree with Bill Nelson. Get rid of the Electoral College!

THANK GOD!! THIS ELECTORAL THING IS RIDICULOUS AND ALWAYS HAS BEEN. ONE PERSON ONE VOTE.

Oh, Herman, stop playing the victim!! The comment about the Masters extending the course to stop Tiger Woods is especially ridiculous.

Regarding this issue, many folks here are wrong–"one man, one vote" sounds great in theory, but so does communism. If the College was scrapped, this country would be practically held hostage by the urban liberals living in places such as NYC and LA. No way in hell should that happen!

Liberals SUCK, their taking down my Democratic Party

they obviously havent won the White House since Kennedy ran for President

Liberals need to start their own Political Party and Leave the Democratic Party Alone