Posted on 12/14/2016 4:03:05 AM PST by drewh
Twice in less than two decades the majority vote in a presidential election was overruled by the math of the Electoral College. The Founding Fathers created the electoral college to make sure that voters in concentrated urban areas would not be able to neglect the concerns of the rural population. But many people believe that the concept of democracy is undermined when a President is put into office without gaining majority support from the voters.
The results of the Trump/Clinton contest have led to calls for the electors to cast “faithless” votes for the winner of the popular vote, Hillary Clinton, and even for a Constitutional amendment to get rid of the Electoral college.
A group called National Popular Vote has a proposed National Popular Vote bill that would guarantee the presidency to the candidate who receives the most popular votes in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. And it does not require a Constitutional Amendment. Steve Silberstein, a successful businessman, co-founder of the computer software company Innovative Interfaces Inc. (one of the world’s largest suppliers of computer systems to libraries), and Board member of National Popular Vote, answered my questions about their proposal.
What was the problem the electoral college was intended to fix?
The Founding Fathers did not want the Congress to choose the President (they did not want a Parliamentary system), so they asked the state legislatures to do so. The electoral college turns over the selection of the President to the individual state legislators, who appoint electors that they think represent the interests of their individual states.
(Excerpt) Read more at huffingtonpost.com ...
Someone should point out leftist coalitions are not popular democracies. Alinsky coalitions are a great example. The small narrow interest group has the same vote as the big, broad interest group.
And above all, the single individual who has the connections to bring in the funding has more power than the millions of people they speak for who do not bring in the funding.
“.........National Popular Vote bill that would guarantee the presidency to the candidate who receives the most popular votes in all 50 states and the District of Columbia....”
What needs to be included is that NO ILLEGAL, NON_CITIZEN of the U.S. be allowed to vote without a government issued voter I.D.
I cringe anymore when I hear “our democracy” used by anyone.
Well yes, per sovereign State, which is exactly what we do...The United States is not a State (yet)...The United States is 50 sovereign States...
My brother delights in pointing out that the Yankees outscored the Pirates 55-27 in the 1960 World Series, but the Pirates won the title 4 games to 3.
Not a bad analogy to the Electoral College.
And why did the Pirates win? The Rules. (You know, those pesky details both sides agreed to beforehand).
To abolish the EC is to change the name of the country, as it could not properly be “United States”.
It might as well be changed to “CaliNewYorkia” or “Soromerica”.
No.
The electoral vote was envisioned specifically to counter the popular vote.
-PJ
What a stupid ignorant question.
The proposed bill will actually encourage faithless electors. Imagine a Conservative slate of electors being forced to vote for a Liberal. There would have to be a slate of electors named AFTER the election, rendering the voting meaningless for states opposing the other candidate. THAT would require a Constitutional Amendment.
If all the ballots were actually counted and their validity verified, I’m sure that it would be found that Trump won the popular vote also. All bogus and illegal alien ballots should have been tossed.
Minow gets all the wasteland credit, but T.S. Eliot did it first. He wore the bottom of his trousers rolled.
I might agree to the popular vote only when Voter ID is implemented!!
This is still a federal republic, created by and composed of sovereign individual States, "United" under a constitution designed to prevent it turning into a dictatorship of a temporary majority. The founders were products of a classical education and had the examples of failed democracies like Athens versus successful republics like Rome, Florence, and Holland to inform them of what happens when pure majority rules. And we, in what is condescendingly referred to as "flyover country", won't give up that republic without a fight.
Headline of the Day Poll
Should the Electoral College be abolished?
Yes, direct democracy is the only fair way to hold elections
No, it preserves the vital concept of Federalism
Read more: http://www.headlineoftheday.com/2016/12/11/should-the-electoral-college-be-abolished/#ixzz4SpAfdIaq
Okay, libs. For you to "rig" the electoral vote to match the popular vote, you would have to take electors away from another state -- thus invalidating the voters' wishes in that state. The number of electors is determined based on the number of Representatives and Senators in Congress. The number of Representatives your state has is based on population. So, California has X representatives and Utah has x representatives.
Just because California has a higher population than Utah, you don't suddenly get to take an elector away from Utah to true up the electors to the popular vote. The apportionment is done at the time the number of Representatives is set. California has its assigned electors and Utah has theirs.
The US is a representative republic, not a democracy.
Get over it, snowflake.
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Absolutely correct. We MUST DEMAND that our schools TEACH the difference so that EVERYONE in America knows we are a REPUBLIC. We hear so much about democracy all the time, but we never hear anything about a republic it’s no wonder people are misinformed.
Only if the fraud factor is fully identified and subtracted from the results. < sarc >
(No, not even then!)
“A group called National Popular Vote has a proposed National Popular Vote bill that would guarantee the presidency to the candidate who receives the most popular votes in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. And it does not require a Constitutional Amendment.”
Article II Section 1 Paragraph 2 and 3 superseded by Amendment 12 of the US Constitution cannot be overridden by a lessor bill as it does not rise to the level of a Constitutional Amendment.
"Ceterum censeo Islam esse delendam."
Garde la Foi, mes amis! Nous nous sommes les sauveurs de la République! Maintenant et Toujours!
(Keep the Faith, my friends! We are the saviors of the Republic! Now and Forever!)
LonePalm, le Républicain du verre cassé (The Broken Glass Republican)
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