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The electoral college

How should presidents be elected

  • Popular vote

    Votes: 27 45.8%
  • Electoral college

    Votes: 32 54.2%

  • Total voters
    59

Xsnake1

Member
Joined
Jul 10, 2013
Messages
69
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Location
Rochester, NY
Gender
Male
Political Leaning
Conservative
The idea of the electoral college is the perfect example of "democracy" gone wrong. Presidents should be elected based on the popular vote, not the electoral vote. I want the president that more people voted for, not the one that was supported by bigger states. I live in a blue state and I'm Republican which means when I vote, my vote just gets thrown away and I'm forced to support the democrat because that's who more people in the state vote for. Even if one person wins the popular vote which would mean the majority wants that person, the person that less people want can still win the electoral vote and then we're stuck with him/her. The electoral college is just pure stupidity and it should be abolished.
 
If you're going to vote, please explain your answer.
 
I think the electoral college serves a decent purpose in that it limits democracy and gives additional incentive to cover numerous regions that would otherwise be further ignored. One could also tweak the formula for either representation per state or by the electoral votes for each state.
 
I think the electoral system is fine, but it needs to be tweaked a bit. I'd rather see it done by say, Congressional district. Give each district equal weight so that you can't win simply by getting a few population centers in big states - and get rid of the idea of safe states altogether so that they have to compete in each of them.
 
"popular vote" isn't democracy....it's "mob rule"
 
I support state senates deciding who to cast the state's electors for.
 
The idea of the electoral college is the perfect example of "democracy" gone wrong. Presidents should be elected based on the popular vote, not the electoral vote. I want the president that more people voted for, not the one that was supported by bigger states. I live in a blue state and I'm Republican which means when I vote, my vote just gets thrown away and I'm forced to support the democrat because that's who more people in the state vote for. Even if one person wins the popular vote which would mean the majority wants that person, the person that less people want can still win the electoral vote and then we're stuck with him/her. The electoral college is just pure stupidity and it should be abolished.

In a field of 3 or more candidates, I think we need a good runoff system too so that someone with 70% of the public voting against him doesn't win. I personally like the Instant Runoff idea as it addresses lower turnout in runoff elections and saves money. Instant Runoff Voting - YouTube
 
I support state senates deciding who to cast the state's electors for.

That's the perfect idea, who gave you it Fidel Castro, Kim Jong-un, a book by Josef Stalin. If that happens, the people will have no say in government and the same party would win every election.
 
I think the electoral college serves a decent purpose in that it limits democracy and gives additional incentive to cover numerous regions that would otherwise be further ignored. One could also tweak the formula for either representation per state or by the electoral votes for each state.

Under the current system the state with the America's highest population, California gets ignored and all of the attention is placed on Florida, Ohio, Virginia and maybe Pennsylvania. Plus American citizens living in the US territories cannot vote for President even if they were born on the mainland, lived in Texas their whole lives and recently relocate there.
 
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The idea of the electoral college is the perfect example of "democracy" gone wrong. Presidents should be elected based on the popular vote, not the electoral vote. I want the president that more people voted for, not the one that was supported by bigger states. I live in a blue state and I'm Republican which means when I vote, my vote just gets thrown away and I'm forced to support the democrat because that's who more people in the state vote for. Even if one person wins the popular vote which would mean the majority wants that person, the person that less people want can still win the electoral vote and then we're stuck with him/her. The electoral college is just pure stupidity and it should be abolished.

The electoral college was established for two reasons. One was to give rural areas a bit more attention so that everything isn't decided by the major cities. The other was a preventative measure against popularism. The Republic is not a pure democracy and the desires of the majority must be tempered with the rights and liberties of the minority.
 
I think the electoral college serves a decent purpose in that it limits democracy and gives additional incentive to cover numerous regions that would otherwise be further ignored. One could also tweak the formula for either representation per state or by the electoral votes for each state.

If we get rid of the electoral system, candidates will be forced to focus on all states instead of just swing states
 
That's the perfect idea, who gave you it Fidel Castro, Kim Jong-un, a book by Josef Stalin. If that happens, the people will have no say in government and the same party would win every election.

Well it is the system we used to use, you know back when our politics were more about what is best for the country and states as opposed to "Imma gonna get me an Obamaphone!!!!!" :2wave:
 
Under the current system the state with the America's highest population, California gets ignored and all of the attention is placed on Florida, Ohio, Virginia and maybe Pennsylvania.

If California got more attention to, maybe they wouldn't always just blindly vote for the democrat
 
The candidate that gets the most votes should win, period.
 
If we get rid of the electoral system, candidates will be forced to focus on all states instead of just swing states

No they'll be forced to focus on major population centers where the amount of return for money spent is worth it.
 
The idea of the electoral college is the perfect example of "democracy" gone wrong. Presidents should be elected based on the popular vote, not the electoral vote. I want the president that more people voted for, not the one that was supported by bigger states. I live in a blue state and I'm Republican which means when I vote, my vote just gets thrown away and I'm forced to support the democrat because that's who more people in the state vote for. Even if one person wins the popular vote which would mean the majority wants that person, the person that less people want can still win the electoral vote and then we're stuck with him/her. The electoral college is just pure stupidity and it should be abolished.

At the same time there are Democrats in Red States that have the same problem. And you aren't throwing your vote away. It simply gives a more fair representation of the people, just like the House of Reps does. Without the Electoral College you do realize that Gore would have been President right? Would you have wanted that?
 
No they'll be forced to focus on major population centers where the amount of return for money spent is worth it.

We don't really need candidates to focus anywhere. We have TV and the internet now, people can find out about candidates no matter where they campaign.
 
At the same time there are Democrats in Red States that have the same problem. And you aren't throwing your vote away. It simply gives a more fair representation of the people, just like the House of Reps does. Without the Electoral College you do realize that Gore would have been President right? Would you have wanted that?

Maybe getting rid of the electoral college would have affected the popular vote results
 
Maybe getting rid of the electoral college would have affected the popular vote results

How would that happen? Most people forget there is an electoral college. There is no reason to do away with it. It keeps the elections fair.
 
What I dislike about the electoral college is that candidates will pander to swing states and swing areas, the rest of the nation is pretty much dead set on their candidate with having solid red and blue states that don't matter come election time.

It can have some pros when it comes to state representation.
 
I think it should go back a bit further too as now many states have laws mandating that the electoral college vote along the same lines as the popular vote; but those laws should be reversed in order to restore the EC to the check it once was.
 
I think it should go back a bit further too as now many states have laws mandating that the electoral college vote along the same lines as the popular vote; but those laws should be reversed in order to restore the EC to the check it once was.

Agreed. Each elector go with his district, wasn't that how it was supposed to work?
 
How would that happen? Most people forget there is an electoral college. There is no reason to do away with it. It keeps the elections fair.

It does not keep elections fair. I live in a blue state so when I vote Republican my vote just gets thrown away. Maybe if the electoral college was ended, candidates would focus their attention on the whole country instead of just swing states which would cause people to be influenced differently.
 
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