Can someone explain to me how the electoral college is a good idea?

[Lawrence of Arabia]

OK heres an example to help clarify

Candidate X wins 5 votes in California
Candidate Y wins 3 votes in California

Candidate X gets 8 electoral votes

Candidate X wins 1 vote in Alabama
Candidate Y wins 3 votes in Alabama

Candidate Y gets 4 electoral votes

Total electoral votes: Y:4; X: 8
Total population votes: Y: 6; X: 5

[Lawrence of Arabia]

But should my state be ignored? We are people too. Just because we don't have big cities such as New York, Chicago, LA, Houston, or Dallas doesn't mean we should be treated less than people in those cities.

why should it be treated any differently? What makes people who live in low population states more special then those who dont? A non electoral system would make every person equal no matter where they live.

[Imran Siddiqui]

I understand your point, I just don't see 'the point' .

Only twice has the candidate with fewer popular vote ever won the electoral vote. It is possibly, but very rare. And in cases where it does happen, you never know how much of the popular vote was due to fraud and fake ballots, etc. It's basically a statistical tie.

The fact is almost always the electoral votes match the popular vote.

And you example is flawed.. X gets 6 popular votes as well (5+1) .

[Dis]

no, because people in big cities would still be better than my state.

And I live in a very conservative state. We don't need all those big liberal cities telling us how to live.

[Ming]

And the people in Chicago get an unfair advantage when the Dems rack up close to a million extra votes.

Vote early and often

The system may not be ideal or perfect, but none is.
It's the rules, so deal with it.

[Rufus T. Firefly]

Originally posted by Imran Siddiqui
Only twice has the candidate with fewer popular vote ever won the electoral vote. It is possibly, but very rare. And in cases where it does happen, you never know how much of the popular vote was due to fraud and fake ballots, etc. It's basically a statistical tie.

Just to be pedantic: It's actually happened 4 times -- Shrub, B. Harrison, Hays, and JQ Adams. You can't technically count Kennedy here, but you probably should; he almost certainly won Illinois with stolen votes, and if he'd lost it he would have lost the popular vote and still won in the electoral college.

And surely you'd agree, then, that since the electoral college does generally match the popular vote, there should be no objection to making the College truly probortional, by eliminating the two "extra" electors each state gets.

[Imran Siddiqui]

And surely you'd agree, then, that since the electoral college does generally match the popular vote, there should be no objection to making the College truly probortional, by eliminating the two "extra" electors each state gets.

I don't care either way. You just have to sell it.

The only problem I see with changing the system too dramatically are the costs involved with switching for minimal gain (ie, to go to a popular vote for President the feds may have to get involved setting up elections, which traditionally has just been done by states). Not to mention the costs of having Congress debate this thing ad nauseum, passing a bill, and then having 3/4 of the states pass it.

[Nubclear]

Originally posted by Imran Siddiqui
Why should it?

Because Gore would have won, but not with the popular vote

[DanielXY]

Why would anyone want the rural folks to get more impact on anything?

[Lawrence of Arabia]

daaaamnnn jina, im so fukcing hammered.

[Space05us]

The electoral college exists so the state of Alaska, with a population smaller than most cities, can have a say in things.


so STFU and learn to deal!

[Lawrence of Arabia]

And why should a state with a population smaller than most cities have a say greater that its proportion?

[Space05us]

And why should a state with a population smaller than most cities have a say greater that its proportion?

we have oil

[Dis]

yes. states such as Nevada and Alaska demand repesentation.

We can't help it if we're small and can't compete with large states.

[Lawrence of Arabia]

hloy d****. i eanna continue but ui dobnt think i vcns. ill cyas asll in thr flip side.