In an idea that makes new math appear intelligible, an assistant professor at Washington and Lee University School of Law is suggesting that to “level the racial playing field” votes cast by Black voters should be double counted.
In a piece for the tragically Progressive magazine, The Nation, Brandon Hasbrouck argues that “Black voters in this country are worth less than white voters.” Hasbrouck seems to base his assumption on a reality that sees an equal number of blacks and whites in the United States.
According to the UN Census, just 12.3 percent of the population in the United States is black. Hispanics represent 12.5 percent, Asians represent 3.7 percent, and Native Americans represent 0.9 percent. Whites represent 75.1 percent.
“One core problem is the Electoral College,” Hasbrouck said.
“Wyoming, which has just 580,000 residents and is 93 percent white, gets three electors because of its two senators and one representative in the House. By comparison, Georgia’s Fifth Congressional District — which includes Atlanta, has 710,000 residents, and is 58 percent Black — has no dedicated electors or senators and can only occasionally overcome the mostly white and conservative votes from elsewhere in the state.”
Double-counting Black votes would actually restore electoral balance, writes @b_hasbrouck
https://t.co/qsrPXmJOh5— The Nation (@thenation) December 19, 2020
Hasbrouck conveniently fails to note that – in addition to Atlanta being 42 percent not black – that Georgia has 16 Electoral College votes to Wyoming’s three.
“This devaluation of Black votes allows our political system to ignore Black lives, and the consequences are devastating,” Hasbrouck continues. “Unequal representation has led to unequal health care outcomes, which the COVID-19 pandemic has only worsened.”
In a convoluted reasoning, Hasbrouck offers a solution to his perceived inequity: Double-count black votes.
“Counting Black votes twice…provides redress for myriad forms of disenfranchisement deployed against Black voters,” he writes.
“Because white votes currently count more than Black ones, double-counting Black votes would restore electoral balance. Vote reparations would be a giant step toward remedying our nation’s long history of denying and devaluing Black votes,” he continues with a straight face.
“To address systemic racism, we must transform how we choose our government. Even if vote reparations aren’t instituted, Black voters will keep tirelessly dragging our states toward a more perfect union. But just imagine our country if our votes counted twice,” he asked us to suppose.
