the electoral college

[ribbon]

It's time for my rant that I have had every four years since a high school government class. I understand why the founding fathers (maybe we needed some founding mothers :winky) put the electoral college in place, because they didn't trust the common folks to vote and for so called equity between the larger and smaller populated states, but I HAVE NEVER agreed with it. Every vote doesn't really count, with the electoral college in my opinion.
I think it's time to change the way our president is elected, but I doubt that it will happen.
Any other thoughts?

[lollyb]

:hugon :ribpink :hugoff

I know what you're saying. I think the same thing. I think that it stinks for states that don't have a lot of electoral votes because they probably are pretty much ignored during the campaign. And also, things are way different now than they were in the seventeen hundreds. With TV and all the other media we have, we citizens are able to be really informed. And I think (or HOPE at least! :winky) that the people who are planning on voting are paying attention to the issues.

So, in short, I agree. Maybe someday they'll get rid of it, but probably not in the near future.

[shortstop]

IT SUCKS.
It either needs to be abolished or chaged the way that Colorado changed it.
I was just having this conversation yesterday with someone and we were discussing how Colorado's electoral college is divided up according to the percentage of popular votes.
Ex: If there are ten electoral college votes for a state and Kerry gets seventy percent of the popular vote and Bush gets thirty, then Kerry gets seven of the electoral votes instead of ten and Bush gets three instead of zero.
If they HAVE to keep the electoral college, then I think it should be done that way, at least it'll more honestly reflect the popular vote.

[Shuffleboard Queen]

We studied the Electorial College in my high school AP US History class, and we came to many of the same conclusions you all have. I was convinced after the two thousand election fiasco (I was abroad in Scotland and I was razzed endlessly for being an :usa) they would change the way the voting system in this country worked, but they haven't...grr. It's just a very archaic system that works well when you can't count the votes very quickly. But you can now, and so it should be changed. IMHO.

[macgirl]

the only way the electoral college could still be useful is if the popular vote was then proportionally reflected in the electoral vote. For example, in Generic Swing State with ten electoral votes, if forty percent of the popular vote went for candidate A, thirty percent for candidate B, and another thirty percent for candidate C, that should be reflected in the electoral votes. The "winner takes all" setup is just crazy.

[saralee]

:hugon :fishy s :hugoff

Ok. I know this is terrible, but I have a couple questions about the electoral college. Any one who knows, can answer, please.

:bullet Who decides who get on the electoral college?

:bullet Is the electoral college made up of rich people, or politicians, or common people, ect?

:bullet How do the electoral college votes affect the overall outcome of the election? Do they carry a lot more weight? If so, how much?

Thanks!

:love Sara :bandwagon

[ribbon]

Here are some links about the electoral college:
http://www.fec.gov/pages/ecworks.htm
http://www.archives.gov/federal_register/electoral_college/about.html

Who decides who get on the electoral college?
Is the electoral college made up of rich people, or politicians, or common people, ect?
Who Selects the Electors?
The process for selecting electors varies throughout the United States. Generally, the political parties nominate electors at their State party conventions or by a vote of the party's central committee in each State.

Electors are often selected to recognize their service and dedication to their political party. They may be State-elected officials, party leaders, or persons who have a personal or political affiliation with the Presidential candidate.

Then the voters in each State choose the electors on the day of the general election. The electors' names may or may not appear on the ballot below the name of the candidates running for President, depending on the procedure in each State.

How do the electoral college votes affect the overall outcome of the election? Do they carry a lot more weight? If so, how much?

The electoral college are the only votes that effect the election. In the last election, Gore had more popular votes than Bush, but because of the way those votes were distributed in the states, Bush was declared the winner. That's why that happened in Florida was so important, because while Bush won by about five hundred votes, he got all twenty-five electoral colllege votes went to him, pushing him over the top in the EC by five votes.
There's a lot more about the EC, including what I quoted in your last question http://www.archives.gov/federal_register/electoral_college/about.html here.

[gone]

I have to disagree. The electoral college was established for a reason- the same reason that we're a republic, and not a democracy. The forefathers didn't trust the people of the united states to make rational decisions about voting. I have to say the same holds true for today.

And another reason we need the electoral college- if we didn't have it, the cities of the US like NYC would elect the president.

For Colorado to be making the proposition that they want to change the winner takes all system two weeks before the election shows a real lack of judgment. For me, it shows that the reason they're doing it is partisan, not because they actually care about the issue.

[Anakalia]

Don't two other states already divide up there electoral college votes? I don't beleive Colorado is the first one to think of doing this. I am pretty sure there are two others, but I cannot remember which ones.