The Trouble with the Electoral College

The problem with the Electoral College in the modern world.
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• Category

  News & Politics

[Craig McCarthy]

As someone from Rhode Island, I am sorry Ohio.

[ChromaAurora]

With all due respect, I don't think you need any qualifications at all to be US President.

Harry S. Truman was a tailor, Ronald Reagan was an actor, Jimmy Carter was a peanut farmer- do you think any of them had any political training?

All you need to be president is to be born in the US, have lived there for 14 years at least, and to be a minimum age of 35.

Absolutely anyone who fits the criteria can be president. It's not like you need a relevant degree.

[Terestrasz]

All you really need is money and to get support from a major party.

[Flatrocker512]

How does it overshadow their concerns? It's like I said before... it's only about a vote for President. There's no change involved to the House of Representatives or the US Senate (the legislative bodies that actually *create* the laws and bills we all must live by). There's no power grab.

[dandyky]

With an NPV the concerns of the large states and urban areas would basically overshadow the concerns and needs of the small states. NPV would essentially be a power grab for the big states. :-P D.

[dandyky]

Yes, the POTUS does represent the people. He also represents the states. The USA is a nation of people AND states. The EC reflects both the diversity of the people and the states. An auto worker in Kentucky may have different concerns than a farmer in Iowa. The business man in New York has different concerns than the oil rig worker in Texas. The EC reflects that diversity. Greys figures only include numbers for cities proper and not their metropolitan areas. :-P D.

[Flatrocker512]

You're still thinking in terms of borders and regions, not people (as in the people the president represents globally). And it's like Grey said: the largest 100 cities in America don't even make up 1/5th of our total population.

[ChromaAurora]

Oh yes, you are quite right. That's why it should be capped like it is in the UK, imo.

This opens up another whole can of worms also- string-pulling.

Basically, you have to not piss off major institutions who provide for you. This means basically that they call the shots.

Don't dare plan to increase taxes on pickles if Vlasic funds you. Don't ever entertain the notion of gun control if the NRA donate to. Don't charge extra on baseballs if the Baltimore Orioles give you money, and so on.

[dandyky]

NPV does not guarantee that a candidate will receive broad popular support nationwide. Under NPV, a candidate could win huge pluralities in the coastal urban areas AND the NPV and lose the rest of the nation. For example, Al Gore won big states with large urban areas but he lacked the broad distribution of popular support to win the EC. :-P D.

[MrBulbasaurlover]

There is at least one qualification, and that is to have enough advertising money, enough money to go to different places to give speeches ect.

[Flatrocker512]

Legislatures don't hand-pick their state's electors anymore, though. The voters do. That's why the only major difference between an NPV and the EC is that the NPV does not allow the loser to win the election.

[ChromaAurora]

Thank you. That's informative and pleasing to know.

I have no idea why so many people here seem to think so negatively of it, though. *shrugs*