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The Popular Vote is Irrelevant

Onyx

Active Member
Premium Member
I am not a democrat so I don't care about that portion. I just think its silly that we have an archaic system set in place to preform a function that it no longer provides.

I'm not sure. I think the function has evolved to ensure large cities don't control the entire country. And that a dictator doesn't emerge as a result.
 

Revoltingest

Pragmatic Libertarian
Premium Member
I'm not sure. I think the function has evolved to ensure large cities don't control the entire country. And that a dictator doesn't emerge as a result.
I don't know if the EC is any better at preventing dictatorship than the popular vote.
But we are a republic, & the less populous states have relatively more power per voter.
This is wrong for fans of the popular vote, but right for those who prefer a republic.
I prefer that which favors people from more thinly populated regions over those in a hive.
But "right" & "wrong" are irrelevant, since both systems would be quite representative.
Anyone who wants to may work towards change.
 

Sunstone

De Diablo Del Fora
Premium Member
Please prove your original claim that common sense demands others to agree and join with you in defeating your common foe.

If that's your best response, then this is getting too middle school even for me, Parchment.
 

Onyx

Active Member
Premium Member
I don't know if the EC is any better at preventing dictatorship than the popular vote.
But we are a republic, & the less populous states have relatively more power per voter.
This is wrong for fans of the popular vote, but right for those who prefer a republic.
I prefer that which favors people from more thinly populated regions over those in a hive.
But "right" & "wrong" are irrelevant, since both systems would be representative.
Anyone who wants to may work towards change.
The main point I'm trying to make is to exercise not just a little, but a lot of caution when it comes to changing the delicate balance of the Constitution.
 

Revoltingest

Pragmatic Libertarian
Premium Member
The main point I'm trying to make is to exercise not just a little, but a lot of caution when it comes to changing the delicate balance of the Constitution.
I sympathize.
I just don't think switching to the popular vote would be all that bad.
Sure, less populous regions would be often ignored during the
campaign, but they'd still have votes which pols would cater to.
Only a constitutional amendment would change this, the other
proposals notwithstanding.
 

Revoltingest

Pragmatic Libertarian
Premium Member
Sometimes I think a random number generator would do just as well. Think of the cost savings! :D
Aye dat!
I don't see voting as ensuring the best candidate wins, but rather as
a mechanism to mitigate entrenchment of governmental power over us.
Jury trials function similarly.
 

Watchmen

Well-Known Member
Premium Member
No it doesn't. You in effect said this statement of mine, "The fact is the majority of the active electorate was not duped by Trump.", logically implies something along the lines of this statement, "The fact is the majority of the active electorate would not have been duped by Trump if the popular vote was what mattered (and not the electoral college)." But it's clearly hogwash to say that the former statement logically implies the latter. Your point does not stand.



My guess is that it would not be the same. Who would have won is an open question. I agree -- up to a point -- with your reasoning in the OP. But that speculation logically does nothing to change the fact that a majority of the electorate in 2016 was not duped by Trump. That fact has no impact on the constitutional legitimacy of Trump's election, but it does suggest that the majority of the electorate doesn't support Trump, and that his political standing may be in question.
Wrong. Your premise is flawed with the inclusion of the word "duped." That suggests they were tricked and denies that many folks actually like Trump's various positions.

It doesn't suggest that the majority of the electorate doesn't support Trump.
 

Monk Of Reason

༼ つ ◕_◕ ༽つ
I'm not sure. I think the function has evolved to ensure large cities don't control the entire country. And that a dictator doesn't emerge as a result.
Instead Florida and Ohio hold all the power. Listen man I'm from Florida and I am 100% sure we shouldn't be deciding the fate of the US. I've never been to Ohio but I don't hear good things from there either.
 

Watchmen

Well-Known Member
Premium Member
If Trump and Clinton had used different strategies for the campaign, then their results would have been different. Who would've wound up ahead? I don't know.

My point earlier is that you telling us, effectively, that under different rules, Trump would have done a better job commanding the will of the people doesn't change the fact that in the last election, he didn't do as good a job as Clinton at commanding the will of the people.

Your response (again, effectively) of "of course! The rules are set up to encourage candidates to win electoral college votes, not popular support!" does nothing to convince me that the rules shouldn't be set up to encourage popular support.

You're making assumptions. I never said Trump would do better. I said no one knows what the result would be. I'm not advocating change in the rules.
 

Akivah

Well-Known Member
While the Electoral College has its share of controversies and faults, the real question is, can it be changed? Given that a constitutional amendment is required to do so and 75% of the states must agree to the change, I don't see it happening. Analyzing the percent change from electoral voting to population, 29 states (including DC) would have a decrease in voting power, 8 would have no change, and just 14 states would have an increase. There is no way that enough states would vote to decrease their own voting power.
 

Onyx

Active Member
Premium Member
Instead Florida and Ohio hold all the power. Listen man I'm from Florida and I am 100% sure we shouldn't be deciding the fate of the US. I've never been to Ohio but I don't hear good things from there either.
I admit that I went into the realm of the improbable, but not the impossible. Without various checks and balances we run the risk of becoming a one-sided system.
 

9-10ths_Penguin

1/10 Subway Stalinist
Premium Member
You're making assumptions. I never said Trump would do better. I said no one knows what the result would be.
You said that we shouldn't read much into Clinton taking the popular vote, because Trump's popular support would have been "different" if the race was based on the popular vote.

I'm not advocating change in the rules.
Why not?
 
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