Whats the point of voting in presidental elections if the popular vote means nothing?

Question

The way its set up is to; "protect the people from themselves" why all the fuss on vote or die or you have to vote when its a big scam and regardless of the popular vote its all based on the electoral. Aslo the state legislators don't even have to vote for the majority of the state, they usually vote for there party which was all delegated months before the election. WTF?

Answer 1

Although Delegates to the Electoral College are not required to vote with the majority vote in a state it is commonly accepted that they will. Personally I think the days when we needed an Electoral College are long gone and it should be abolished. However remember this although the EC has a say in presidental election, your representatives and senators are included on the same ballot and are elected purely by popular vote. So your vote does count no matter the outcome of the presidential race.

Answer 2

Ok, so let me see if I can biefly explain this:

It is important to vote for President because it is the allocation of votes that determines which electoral vote get cast in the electoral college. The advantage of having an electoral system is not as you stated " to protect the people from themselves". This is a mistaken concept. The true value lies in giving each state a say in the election. If we simply went by popular vote, which many people think is preferable, a cantidate would need only to camapign and win the cities of New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, St. Louis, Atlanta, and Seatle. The rest of the country would simply have no say in the process. (This example is only an estimation to display the problem more or few cities may actually be required, however the point reamins the same)

Answer 3

Whoa, whoa, whoa, slow down there...

It isn't state legislators who are voting.

Look, it is very unlikely that an electoral voter will against what the people that elected them asked. In fact, I can only think of one example, and it was a run away election, and they were worried about George Washington's record.

It really does serve a purpose.

Like you really want to see EVERY vote across the US recounted instead of a single state? Hell, a single state is bad enough.

Answer 4

While the current presidential election system (electoral college) is clearly outdated, it still has some sort of representative factor. Just because someone's vote in Wisconsin has more weight than mine in Oregon doesn't mean there is anything unfair or devious going on. Oh...wait. Yes it does. This is crap. I say 1 person-1 vote!

Answer 5

If you're trying to say that voting directly for the presidency is better, then think again! Looking at the governments around the world that hold direct elections, I see too much emotional upheaval and mass confusion during their elections. We may get excited and confused, but it's a lot harder to hoodwink our voting population than it is in a lot of other countries. If you think our system sucks, look at others around the world!

Answer 6

What's the point? The point is makin people feel important. If you wouldn't be able to vote, u'd say u're manipulated. So, this way u are happy and manipulated.

Answer 7

i always say don't vote it only encourages them

Answer 8

Do a little more research dude