I can't imagine it either. :)
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Posted on 10/24/2011 9:42:48 AM PDT by afraidfortherepublic
PRINCETON, N.J., Oct. 24 (UPI) -- Most Americans say they would amend the Constitution to swap the Electoral College with a popular-vote system to elect the president, a poll indicates.
Sixty-two percent of Americans prefer replacing the Electoral College and 35 percent would keep the current method for electing presidents, results from a Gallup poll released Monday indicated.
For the first time since the disputed 2000 presidential election, the majority of Republicans said they favor amending the Constitution, the Princeton, N.J., polling agency said.
That year, Democrat Al Gore won the national popular vote but Republican George W. Bush wound up with more electoral votes and was elected.
Those who advocate abolishing the Electoral College said they thought the system puts undue emphasis on a small number of swing states, Gallup said. Americans generally agree that the United States should adopt a system in which the popular vote prevails.
(Excerpt) Read more at upi.com ...
I have never understood that argument. Right now with the electoral college we have some states that the Republican will win except in case of a Democrat landslide. No one will campaign there. Similarly there are states that the Dem will win unless the Republican has a national landslide. Most of the campaigning will focus on the battleground states that are split nearly 50-50. If there was no electoral college, then a Republcan picking up an extra few percent of the vote in New York would help the national count, while now it might just shift it from 60D-40R to 57D-43R.
The main thing I like about the electoral college is that it provides a firewall against Chicago's (and other cities) quadrennial festivals of ballot box stuffing some call elections. Without the electoral college, tractor trailer loads of "found" ballot boxes would be rolling into Cook County's board of elections giving the Dem a 5,000,000 vote margin just in that county. Right now that will just shift Illinois's electoral votes (and like 1960 that might be enough to elect a president). With a national popular vote ballots from people across the country would have their votes canceled by the Chicago machine.
the loophole they have found is the will still award electoral votes but instead of giving the electoral votes to whoever won the majority of votes in the state they will give all the electoral votes to the winner of the national popular vote
If enough states want to ratify an new amendment to the constitution, then do it. Otherwise it can’t be changed. Legally....
Fools. Just what we need. Every big cesspool city deciding the outcome of our elections.
They are certainly dumbasses!!!
It would mean that about 10 major cities would be electing our President & VP. No other votes would be worth a damn.
“Those who advocate abolishing the Electoral College said they thought the system puts undue emphasis on a small number of swing states”
This has got to be the worst pro-popular vote argument I’ve ever heard. You want to swap the “undue emphasis” of this or that state every four years for the perfectly proper and acceptable emphasis on the same states, namely New York and California, election after election, from here to eternity? What have you gained?
I do not believe this could possibly be worse than what we have now.
Obviously the “lack of education” program is scoring some solid successes!
it is not just propaganda they have already passed a law in 9 states representing 49% of the electoral college votes
http://www.nationalpopularvote.com/
“That year, Democrat Al Gore won the national popular vote but Republican George W. Bush wound up with more electoral votes and was elected.”
In California alone, Gore outscored Bush by millions of votes enabling Gores total vote to exceed Bush’s by a mere 1/2 million votes......think about that a moment!
The Electoral College prevents large population states like California from determining the outcome through sheer weight of a landslide vote within that one state only. Think about it!
Elimimating the Electoral College would be one of the last nails in our nation’s coffin......
Eliminite the EC????? Over my dead body.
This is what happens when no one learns the “Why” behind the Constitution. I guess that was the point, though, right?
I would get rid of the electors and go by congressional district, as you advocate. The two extra electoral votes would go to the winner of the congressional district(s). If there is a tie in congressional districts, then split the state's two extra votes.
There are at least two benefits of such a system:
And candidates would still need to pay attention to more than just the main population centers.
If there is not a majority, then a run off is held between the top two candidates.
That's a whole other issue: preferential voting, where you rank the candidates instead of choosing only one. If your first choice loses, then your second choice matters. There is more than one system, and it's surprisingly complicated.
I can't imagine it either. :)
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Most might believe it should be scrapped, because they do not understand it, they do not understand its intrinsic and important relationship to the Federal nature of our Republic, and have been taught at many steps of their education that “one man one vote” and “direct representation” are not only important values but should be applied universally.
Our founders knew that was not true and not the best thing in order for the Republic to remain a Republic.
They knew that pure Democracy leads to dictatorship, with the first Dictator chosen by popular consent.
We need to repeal the amendment that changed the selection of U.S. Senators from selection by the state legislatures to direct popular election.
In doing so, we need that work to be part of educating the public to the importance of the result of that repeal - the Senate is supposed to give the sovereign fifty states a direct voice in Federal legislation. The Senate is to be where THEY, the states, as individual entities are represented, just as the House of Representatives is to be where “the peoples” representatives sit. The House is the check on the parochial interests of the states and the Senate is the check on the tyranny of the majority; which is often a majority of the moment from immediate popular sentiment and not a long reasoned appraisal.
The Electoral College represents in its number of electors the sum of those interests and represents the Federal nature of the Republic in how most of those electors are chosen - the popular winner in a state gets that state’s electoral votes.
Through the Electoral College, the President becomes the President of “these united states” in much greater degree and manner, and consistent with the design of our Republic, than the “President of the people of the United States”.
It was intentional that “the people’s choice” become the choice they want their state’s representation in the Electoral College to reflect; their vote is to determine their state’s choice for President.
The “national popular vote” agenda disregards all that is both right and necessary, for the survival of our Republic, about the Electoral College; and popular sentiment against the Electoral College is most likely due in some part to the subversion that is going on through the “national popular vote” agenda.
They also believed that legislators would live at home and go to Washington. Now they live in D.C. and visit home.
For the first time since the disputed 2000 presidential election, the majority of Republicans said they favor amending the Constitution, the Princeton, N.J., polling agency said...
IDIOTS. LET’S MOVE TO ANOTHER COUNTRY.
Precisely the reason we need to keep it.
“then most don’t understand what it’s there for.”
No they don’t.
The Presidential election is 50 state elections, not a national popularity poll......To allow for a president to be popularly elected would give rise to the tyrany of a few large population states.....
-PJ
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