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Longtime Lafayette Teacher Uses Congressional Campaign to Raise Awareness of Electoral Reform
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| Contributor | Charlotte Rose |
| Last Edited | Charlotte Rose Dec 11, 2018 11:05am |
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| Category | News |
| Author | Gregory Connolly |
| News Date | Friday, August 15, 2014 05:00:00 PM UTC0:0 |
| Description | Ballots from the Historic Triangle to Prince William County in Northern Virginia will be considered in November’s election for the same U.S. House of Representatives seat, and that, according to a longtime Lafayette High School government teacher running a write-in campaign for the seat, is the problem.
Chris Hailey has taught government-related courses at Lafayette for almost 22 years. The non-partisan campaign for the 1st District seat was born not to win the seat but instead to educate people about three pieces of electoral reform he thinks can help shatter the perception of a single vote not making a difference: ending gerrymandering, reforming the electoral college to better reflect the popular vote, and increasing access to identification cards for voters.
“Your vote is only wasted if you know no matter what you do, you can’t make a difference,” Hailey told a crowd of supporters gathered for a small campaign event in the backyard of a house in James City County’s Rolling Woods neighborhood. “I’m telling you a vote for this campaign can make a difference.”
Hailey poses with his wife, Ann Brown-Hailey. (Gregory Connolly/WYDaily)
Hailey poses with his wife, Ann Brown-Hailey. (Gregory Connolly/WYDaily)
That difference, he said, can be made by removing politics from the drawing of political districts, something practiced by both major political parties. It can come to fruition by getting rid of the winner-take-all system in 48 states where electoral votes — which are used to elect the president — are given to the presidential candidate who wins the state’s popular vote instead of by congressional district, which would boost the voices of voters who live in states that regularly vote against their political interests. It could also be made by providing free and easy access to photo ID cards for voters across the country.
“We need to do a much better job of coming together around things we can all agree on instead of being so dee |
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