What do you think about the Electorial College? I say get rid of it!

[NFS4]

Let it go, burn, stomp, kick, mame it! I think that it's a bit long in the tooth and doesn't give the American people a fair shake.

 

[Ferocious]

Agreed.

 

[IBhacknU]

That's politics for you!

 

[bigvince]

of course we should get rid of it in a democracy the elcted officials should be choosen by popular vote and curently that is not true. our votes only say that we want our elector to vote whatever our popular vote was but it's realy only a suggestion because the electors can vote any way they choose......:disgust:

 

[thebestMAX]

For once, I agree with you.

 

[somethingwitty]

agreed-especially because I'm stuck voting absentee (and it's my first time voting-that's annoying) and I just know my vote doesnt mean a thing on the national level

<edit> agree with the opinion expressed in the topic-get rid of it</edit>

 

[bigvince]

agree with who?

 

[optoman]

If the election were held today, Gore would win with electoral votes but would lose if we used the popular vote.

I think it should be by popular vote. I think it would make more people get out and vote. In a state were it is mostly democratic, most people won't go vote because they know that the democratic candidate will get their electoral vote. If every vote counted then I think more people would go and vote.

 

[DesignDawg]

It's antiquated and based on a society where people in the next state had little or no knowledge of what was going on next door. The world was not connected at that time, there was no real &quot;national&quot; news, people could not read..... All that has changed now. We have the resources now to be able to make just as sound a decision as the electors. It should be done away with, and it WILL if the popular and electoral votes do not result in the same winner this time around.

Ricky
DesignDawg

 

[NFS4]

I wonder how long it will take the bagheads in Washington to figure it out?

 

[KingHam]

The Electoral College does exactly what it is supposed to do, keep freaks out of office.

KingHam

 

[Pretender]

No, our forefathers are right. We can't be trusted to govern ourselves. Are you crazy? Can you imagine what would happen if, god forbid, legally sane people were allowed to vote for our own opinions and beliefs, to benefit, ourselves? I think it's a recipe for doom, destruction, and anarchy, I say!


I'd like to see anyone say that while keeping a straight face

 

[Pretender]

<< agreed-especially because I'm stuck voting absentee (and it's my first time voting-that's annoying) and I just know my vote doesnt mean a thing on the national level >>

I'm still a minor, so excuse the dumb question, but .... absentee votes don't count? If not, then what the hell is the point of them?

 

[IBhacknU]

<< excuse the dumb question, but .... absentee votes don't count? If not, then what the hell is the point of them? >>

well, I thought for one thing, absentee votes were the first to be counted and what a lot of the networks used to make predictions. That and exit polls.

See, they count for something

 

[somethingwitty]

absentee votes have been known to affect the local elections. However, on a national level, they have little to no impact in the outcome. nevermind the obvious fact that the electorial votes are pretty close to decided already, the absentee ballets state that they are considered timely if recieved by 4pm the day after the election, provided that they are postmarked before the election. So, at the time when the outcome of the presidential election is known, absentee ballets are still being accepted.

 

[Napalm381]

<< Gore would win with electoral votes >>

Wrong. According to CNN.com, Bush has 214 votes consdered to be a sure thing, Gore 171, and 153 are considered to be up in the air.

 

[DirkBelig]

Doing away with the Electoral College would also do away with this pandering to the few states with the most votes nonsense. (i.e. Florida, Cali, NY, etc.) Ya wanna run for governor? MOVE THERE! Otherwise, the Peosident of all the people should just be voted on by all the people.

 

[TaylorD]

The Electoral College is a rather stupid system...

The electors don't even have to vote the way their state does... So the president isn't really decided by the voters, but by these electors...

How does one get that job?

 

[Napalm381]

<< How does one get that job? >>

Easy. Be elected to Congress.

[edit] I apoligize, I did not read thouroughly enough and misinterpreted his query.

 

[ViRGE]

I think we should keep the college. Unfortunately, while the general public has access to all these great new news tools, there are still millions of morons out in the nation. These people, the ones that don't bother to pay attention to the issues, don't think forwards, and don't bother to even read the voters pamplet are a major threat to the popular vote. And on the same issue, if the popular vote was the de facto standard, it would indeed become a popular vote. We'd see canidates not talking about the issues, but instead trying to be popular. There is no real penelty for making pre-election lies, and as such, the above morons could, would, and shall be swayed by lies. So, for peat's sake, keep the college. I rather let someone who cares vote than to let the moron next door cancel out mine.:|

 

[DirkBelig]

Napalm381: You're WRONG? The College does NOT come from the Congress, but from people from the states. The House would only decide in case of a tie.

 

[The Wildcard]

Yes i belive that is what happened during the 1996 re-election of Bill Clinton. Bob Dole had won technically more states than Clinton did, BUT of the few states that Clinton did win, they were all the big ones I believe, like New York and Michigan and California which all contribute big electorial votes.

 

So you think more people would get out and vote if elections were changed from electoral college to popular vote? I think so, too. America needs some motivation to be interested in politics, I think that would not necessarily be a bad thing. Politics was a main form of leisure in the late 19th century for most Americans, I think some large majority of the country voted in each election. We've degenerated into a sorry state of apathy.

It might be a popularity contest, but what would happen is that people (new voters) would closely follow that guy they elected, and give him the boot if all he did was lie. (Umm, nevermind, that's what Bill did)

Yeah, maybe the moron next store will be cancelling out your vote, but I'm sure lots of like-minded individuals as yourself who didn't think their vote really counted would get out and vote, too.


When it all comes down to it, those who really want to vote will. The moron next store would probably never vote again after the novelty wore off and all he got out of it was some lame sticker. A popular election for the president would be a great idea.

 

[Impact55]

I agree with ViRGE, the main reason the Electorial College was created to prevent the common man from having the full ability of being able to sway elections. Their is still a lot of morons out there, and I'm sorry but I am going to go with the forefathers on this. True media means more knowledge of the candidates, but like said earlier, their are stil a lot of morons out there.
However, on the other side of the story the Electorial College makes it almost impossible for a 3rd party candidate to win... Although the electorates tend to vote with the popular vote, they are mainly Democratic and Republican supporters, and the though of giving the government to a 3rd part candidate is ludicrous to them.

 

[3putt]

I was watching Nadaer on TV tonight, and he seemed like a fairly intelligent person. I really havent paid much attention to him. He has also done some very good things in his life. I feel it was an injustic not to allow him in the debates. He said he had a ticket to one debate ( just to watch ) and then an invite to a press conference afterwards, but was escorted out with the kind words &quot; You are not allowed here&quot; whats up with that??? I also think the colleges need to go. I think voters need to vote and then we count. Whoever has the most wins...simple