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Should we change our electoral system?[W:319]

Should we change our system for electing presidents?

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Masterhawk

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Our current system has an electoral college which has different amounts for different states (based on population). The candidate which wins the most votes will win all of the votes of that state. Supporters of the EC argue that it protects small states from the big ones, however, it's not winner take all which does this, it's the fact that states start out with 3 electors.

Btw, an example of a third choice would be if it was really close, the two candidates would get half of the state votes.

So, should we change it?
 
Re: Should we change our electoral system?

We need to give more electorial power to the States with only 4 or 5 people in them.
 
Re: Should we change our electoral system?

d0gbreath said:
We need to give more electorial power to the States with only 4 or 5 people in them.
Click to expand...

And we need more tiny states so that we can make the problem worse...Add DC and PR Immediately!
 
Re: Should we change our electoral system?

Oh look! A poll.

I don't know. My MO.
 
Re: Should we change our electoral system?

d0gbreath said:
We need to give more electorial power to the States with only 4 or 5 people in them.
Click to expand...

Which state only has 5 people in it?
 
Re: Should we change our electoral system?

One person - one vote with no vote carrying any more power than any other vote. The only way to achieve that is strict popular vote. Get rid of the EC.
 
Re: Should we change our electoral system?

Crovax said:
Which state only has 5 people in it?
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the state of mass confusion on this thread? :mrgreen:
 
Re: Should we change our electoral system?

haymarket said:
One person - one vote with no vote carrying any more power than any other vote. The only way to achieve that is strict popular vote. Get rid of the EC.
Click to expand...

Until you guy loses the popular vote, but would have won the EC. Then, you'll want to change it back.
 
Re: Should we change our electoral system?

Masterhawk said:
Our current system has an electoral college which has different amounts for different states (based on population). The candidate which wins the most votes will win all of the votes of that state. Supporters of the EC argue that it protects small states from the big ones, however, it's not winner take all which does this, it's the fact that states start out with 3 electors.

Btw, an example of a third choice would be if it was really close, the two candidates would get half of the state votes.

So, should we change it?
Click to expand...

No change. We are not a direct democracy,we are a democratic republic. So popular vote is irrelevant. Our founders set up our system to that densely populated states don't have all the say in who our president is. People whining about the electoral college are just pathetic sore losers who are upset their guy lost.
 
Re: Should we change our electoral system?

apdst said:
Until you guy loses the popular vote, but would have won the EC. Then, you'll want to change it back.
Click to expand...

Whatever suits your narrative I guess.
 
Re: Should we change our electoral system?

Masterhawk said:
Our current system has an electoral college which has different amounts for different states (based on population). The candidate which wins the most votes will win all of the votes of that state. Supporters of the EC argue that it protects small states from the big ones, however, it's not winner take all which does this, it's the fact that states start out with 3 electors.

Btw, an example of a third choice would be if it was really close, the two candidates would get half of the state votes.

So, should we change it?
Click to expand...

Whoever gets the most votes should win. The French electoral method is the way to go.

Round 1
Round where you can vote for any candidate (you don't need to register to any party).
If any candidate gets more than 50% of the votes they become president.

Round 2
Because no one ever gets 50% on the first try, round 2 is between the two candidates who got the most votes.
People go out and vote again & whoever wins the most votes becomes president.

Every vote should be equal. Just because you happen to live in a swing state shouldn't mean your vote "matters" more. Besides, getting rid of the electoral college (and the super delegates) would mean presidential candidates would have to campaign to more Americans & not just focus on key states.
 
Re: Should we change our electoral system?

Masterhawk said:
Our current system has an electoral college which has different amounts for different states (based on population). The candidate which wins the most votes will win all of the votes of that state. Supporters of the EC argue that it protects small states from the big ones, however, it's not winner take all which does this, it's the fact that states start out with 3 electors.

Btw, an example of a third choice would be if it was really close, the two candidates would get half of the state votes.

So, should we change it?
Click to expand...

I would have

1 The president elected the same way the French do (i.e two rounds with only the top two candidates competing in the second)

2 The House of Representatives elected using STV ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Single_transferable_vote )

3 The Senate elected via a party list system ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Party-list_proportional_representation ) that represents the whole country ( I.E the number of seats for each party would corespond more or less with the number of votes and each senator would represent the idea country rather than a particular state.

The virtue being that in all cases voters would be able to vote for third parties without the fear of allowing their least prefered candidate to take office (i.e you could vote for Gary Johnson without having to worry about Hilary Clinton or you could vote for Bernie Sanders or Jill Stein without having to worry about Donald Trump). As far as the Senate is concerned no state would have a disproportionate amount of representation and political parties could put their older and wiser members the top of the list.

And to top it all off a pretatory sociopath would not have been "elected" despite not getting the most votes.
 
Re: Should we change our electoral system?

Masterhawk said:
Our current system has an electoral college which has different amounts for different states (based on population). The candidate which wins the most votes will win all of the votes of that state. Supporters of the EC argue that it protects small states from the big ones, however, it's not winner take all which does this, it's the fact that states start out with 3 electors.

Btw, an example of a third choice would be if it was really close, the two candidates would get half of the state votes.

So, should we change it?
Click to expand...

The thing is that I have not really seen any proposals that make me feel that the results of the electoral process would be better,if they were applied.
 
Re: Should we change our electoral system?

I do not want the most densely populated areas having all the say on who is the entire country's president. I'm not sure if there is another way to make sure this doesn't happen, but I do think adjustments need to be made.

I think the actual voting process needs to be looked at and changed. The process is all over the place on how it's handled, depending on where you live. Something that is this important is handled very casually from what I've seen. Using paper, machine, electronic etc.
 
Re: Should we change our electoral system?

Red_Dave said:
I would have

1 The president elected the same way the French do (i.e two rounds with only the top two candidates competing in the second)

2 The House of Representatives elected using STV ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Single_transferable_vote )

3 The Senate elected via a party list system ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Party-list_proportional_representation ) that represents the whole country ( I.E the number of seats for each party would corespond more or less with the number of votes and each senator would represent the idea country rather than a particular state.

The virtue being that in all cases voters would be able to vote for third parties without the fear of allowing their least prefered candidate to take office (i.e you could vote for Gary Johnson without having to worry about Hilary Clinton or you could vote for Bernie Sanders or Jill Stein without having to worry about Donald Trump). As far as the Senate is concerned no state would have a disproportionate amount of representation and political parties could put their older and wiser members the top of the list.

And to top it all off a pretatory sociopath would not have been "elected" despite not getting the most votes.
Click to expand...

I don't understand. It sounds similar to what we have (for President). Two rounds = Primaries and General Election.


Edit: Never mind, I understand now. :)
 
Re: Should we change our electoral system?

holbritter said:
I don't understand. It sounds similar to what we have (for President). Two rounds = Primaries and General Election.


Edit: Never mind, I understand now. :)
Click to expand...

Fair play :mrgreen: On a side note I think some form of preferential voting would be a good replacement for primaries also. I´m not from the U.S but i can only assume that the point of having such a costly, long and drawn out process is that eventually most candidates will drop out and voters will only have two to choose from. If you simply asked voters across the country to list the candidates in order of preference (again something like STV) then you wouldn´t have to have primaries in every state and could save your powder for the elections.
 
Re: Should we change our electoral system?

apdst said:
Until you guy loses the popular vote, but would have won the EC. Then, you'll want to change it back.
Click to expand...

That is false.
 
Re: Should we change our electoral system?

Cisero said:
Whoever gets the most votes should win. The French electoral method is the way to go.

Round 1
Round where you can vote for any candidate (you don't need to register to any party).
If any candidate gets more than 50% of the votes they become president.

Round 2
Because no one ever gets 50% on the first try, round 2 is between the two candidates who got the most votes.
People go out and vote again & whoever wins the most votes becomes president.

Every vote should be equal. Just because you happen to live in a swing state shouldn't mean your vote "matters" more. Besides, getting rid of the electoral college (and the super delegates) would mean presidential candidates would have to campaign to more Americans & not just focus on key states.
Click to expand...

The head of government in the US is selected by 538 individuals. In France, the head of government is selected by 1 person.
 
Re: Should we change our electoral system?

the EC for POTUS election is about as dumb as giving laxative to a person that just had a colonoscopy .............


popular vote is the only way to make a vote count for a vote, period


stop the EC madness bull**** ............
 
Re: Should we change our electoral system?

This question is asked after every election, usually by the losing side.
It is not broken, so why fix it? Don't like the outcome of the election, start at the bottom, not at the top. Work on engaging and educating people properly. Hold the press to a higher standard.
Nominate candidates that are electable and palatable, who have integrity and decorum, and work on viable additional parties, so we don't have to choose from the lesser of two evils.
 
Re: Should we change our electoral system?

cuban smokes said:
the EC for POTUS election is about as dumb as giving laxative to a person that just had a colonoscopy .............


popular vote is the only way to make a vote count for a vote, period


stop the EC madness bull**** ............
Click to expand...

AND, a last ballot line NONE OF THE ABOVE and a new election if that line wins.
End the choice between a turd sandwich and a low cal turd sandwich.

?/
 
Re: Should we change our electoral system?

It could use some reasonable tweaking to prevent future generations from having to endure what we are suffering through now. But I voted to keep it as the intent of the EC is valid. No point in throwing the baby out with the bath water.

There should be some formula we could incorporate to prevent the vast majority of Americans from falling under the hoof and wearing the yoke of an extreme, dysfunctional minority as we are experiencing now. A "Dictator Clause." Perhaps, a slide that can modulate and compensate, based on vote count percentages, to act as a buffer/cushion in the event we find ourselves in now, that will help level the playing field. Like, for every 500,000 over all votes the candidate gets, they get an extra 5 EC votes. One million = 10 bonus EC votes...... and so on. This would be better pondered by mathematicians.
 
Re: Should we change our electoral system?

We have the electoral college for the same reason we have a Senate. To protect the minority from the Tyranny of the Majority. There is a reason we are not a direct democracy. Candidates could ignore ALL of middle America to win an election. No longer would they have to consider the view of the American farmer and any other people who don't live in Southern California, Texas, South Florida, and most importantly...the North East.

The idea of America is not to let one region control the rest without say.
 
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