[dfwgator]

One it's not clear to me that Gore won the popular vote in 00 and, two, Kerry lost the popular vote very badly.

And you cannot assume that if the electorate knew that the election was based on the popular vote, that Gore would have won it anyway. How many people didn't bother to vote precisely because they knew which way their state was going to go even before the election. How many Texans stayed home because they knew Bush would take the state, that otherwise would have voted for him, had it been a popular vote?

[AndyTheBear]

How many Texans stayed home because they knew Bush would take the state, that otherwise would have voted for him, had it been a popular vote?

And how many folks in the heavily republican Florida pan handle didn't vote when the state was called for Gore before the polls closed there?

[OldPossum]

How many Texans stayed home because they knew Bush would take the state, that otherwise would have voted for him, had it been a popular vote?...

Very, very good point.

[Arizona Carolyn]

How many people went home, in Florida, because the networks called the election for Gore and said it was over when the Panhandle still had an hour to go?

[Ichneumon]

And you cannot assume that if the electorate knew that the election was based on the popular vote, that Gore would have won it anyway. How many people didn't bother to vote precisely because they knew which way their state was going to go even before the election. How many Texans stayed home because they knew Bush would take the state, that otherwise would have voted for him, had it been a popular vote?

Bingo. I did something similar in 1996 -- I would have done anything to keep Clinton from getting re-elected, but I was unhappy with Dole for a number of reasons. Still, I would have held my nose and voted for Dole if it might have helped defeat Clinton.

However, I knew that Dole was already a shoe-in in my state, with or without my vote, and thus he'd get all the electoral votes from my state anyway. So I voted Libertarian just to send a (tiny) message that Dole-style Republicans weren't the kind I like to see on the ballot.