Popular Votes and Electoral votes
Hey,
As u know the 2012 US presidential election just ended. I am new to this thing plus i am a foreigner so i have a little doubt.
Based on who gets 270+ electoral college votes the presidency is decided.
Thats OK. But why the national popular vote??
Please can anyone explain to me the significance of the popular vote. Romney won the popular vote but still lost on electoral votes.
Thoughts please?
Romney didn't win the popular vote.
Ok that was a mistake but whats the use of popular vote???
Bush won in 2000 with a minority of the popular vote.
It has no constitutional significance, just a measure of political views in the country.
Well there is no real use of the popular vote, but the popular vote drives electoral college results. Only 4 times in history has a candidate lost the popular vote but still been elected President, and only once in the last 120 years (Gore/Bush 2000). Without a legitimate third party candidate, it is nearly impossible for it to break in such a way.
Each state electorates are given out based on the popular vote in that state. So, theoretically (and it's happened before), you can lose the popular vote but win the electoral college. People just continue to track the national popular vote because it's essentially a symbol of democracy. It makes people feel good. But it only actually matters at each individual state level for presidential elections.
Ok so thats the deal. Thanks for explaining man.
anyone for changing it so that the candidate is chosen by the popular vote?
+1 wouldn't mind that at all
The argument against this is that smaller states would be overlooked...but they should be of little importance. If 1% of the country lives in Iowa, Iowa should get 1% of the vote. It makes very little sense that Ohio decides the fate of the country year after year.
We also get some pretty odd campaign priorities due to the electoral college. Candidates have to pander to a largely uneducated manufacturing population in a lot of swing states. If they focused campaigns on the Bos-Wash corridor and West Coast, I think we would see very different platforms.
I've always thought that made the most sense. Whoever gets the most votes win, keeps things simple
I honestly think they should take the Libertarian off the ballot. Essentially, they are conservatives trying to make a statement, and are wasting their vote. Obama got 50%, Romney got 48%, which means Johnson got 2% of wasted votes. The system is inherently flawed.
Haha, what? You want to eliminate a party just because you don't like it? If those conservatives chose to vote 3rd party instead of Romney, their choice has to be respected - otherwise what kind of democracy is this?
Not only am I conservative/libertarian, I'm also a realist. Never in the history of this country will there ever be a President who is that far right or left. I just won't happen. Either choose the lesser of two evils, or join the other 180MM+ people who didn't vote this year. Just my .02
Do you know the difference between a Libertarian and a "conservative"?
You don't want a popular vote. The electoral college could in theory defy the voters. So suppose the economy takes a shit and Hitler Jr. ran for president. People elect him and the electoral college could not vote for him. Check and Balance.
Yeah, I think they would go against it, as they should. Pure populism is a receipt for disaster.
This country has a 7th grade reading level and 70% with a high school degree or worse. The morons do enough damage with a Republican form of government, let alone a purely Democratic form.
Or everybody should just realize that this two-party system is trash...
A multi party system isn't much better man. Both parties converge in the center. If you have these splinter groups you will have even more extremism.
I suppose you're right. The real trash is the American population's political mindset.
I will do anything to stop hearing about Ohio and Florida every four years. Seriously, any one gives crap about any of those two states other than presidential elections? (ok. with florida, you have south beach).
http://www.philly.com/philly/news/nation_world/20121108_Vote_was_astron…
Some wards in Philly gave 100% of their votes for Obama. Haha, completely retarded. For you non Philadelphians out there, Philly has one of the highest murder rates. I have no doubt that everyone of those 100% Obama wards are utter shit holes and only voted for Obama because of his race. Love double standards.
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