Why do we not have direct voting for Presidential candidates instead of the electoral system?

Question

It seems to me with the internet and today's on line communication that it would be more representitive to have direct voting for this very important event.

Answer 1

Excellent plan. I think Television whould be fixed up this way, too. Instead of debate and smoke & mirrors what ought to be happening is this.
When an issuse comes up they could ask if you want it or you don't. Then you could click a button that would answr yes or no.
And to clear it up right now--Yes this could be done. Don't let them say it can't. Governed by the people-yea right!

Answer 2

You are correct I think. The Electoral College System was put in place to act as a check against the people. The elites who founded our nation didn't want to leave the future of the nation solely in the hands of the people, who may not be smart enough to elect the right person....again...our Founding Fathers show their wisdom. If they only knew.

I have lived in Red States for the past two elections. As a result my vote doesn't matter.

And imagine how different our process would be if there were no need to win electoral votes. Florida and Ohio would simply not be any more important than Indiana or Iowa.

And why can't we change the Primary Order each presidential election. How about we start in New Mexico and then go to California and then to New York and then to Tennessee.

Why should Iowa and New Hampshire get to determine who our presidents are?? Their track records to date just aren't very stellar.

Anyone else tired of 5 million Iowans determining our presidential futures??

I know I am.

Answer 3

The electoral college was originally founded, of course, because it weighed votes, and the founders felt that the population as a whole was quite unintelligent. It was a way supposedly to ensure that better presidents would be elected, as it didn't go solely by popularity. However, it was also an easy way to rig elections, which may have happened, although it is quite uncertain.

Obviously, the government feels the population is still not intelligent enough, and who is to blame? Obviously the government itself; programs such as No Child Left Behind leave more and more children behind every year; test scores shouldn't be how we grade America's understanding, it should be based more on actual class participation/general knowledge. No one cares that you got 100% on every history test if you don't know who Josef Stalin was. It also continues to be an effective way to rig elections; just look at 2000.

Answer 4

I think you have a wonderful idea there, but let me tell you something. Personally, I am convinced beyond all doubt whatsoever, that all major U.S. elections are crooked, and rigged. The system is broken beyond repair. What possible way do we have of knowing if votes are counted honestly, or not? Especially now with the new computerized voting machines. They can be programmed to count votes any way the person programming them wants them to. Anyone who believes that U.S. presidents are elected by the people must answer the following questions: Why has every U.S. president throughout history been a direct descendant of one of approximately 11 royal Illuminati bloodlines? How could 34 of the 43 U.S. presidents trace their ancestry back to Charlemagne of France? Why has every single president been very richly royal blooded? People are so hesitant to believe in any form of conspiracy at all. I think these things are enough to arouse a certain amount of suspicion.

Answer 5

Umm....you don't vote do you, or you wouldn't ask this silly question. Internet voting? LOL......Sorry there is enough accusations of fraud. We have a good system already, and I want to be sure that when you vote you are #1 alive, #2 of age, #3 eligible, #4 This is not your 12th trip through the line.

Instead of voting directly for a presidential candidate (and his or her vice-presidential running mate), voters in the fifty states and the District of Columbia vote for a slate of "electors" who are pledged to vote for a particular presidential ticket (president/vice-president team). The political parties in each state select a slate of electors. The electors selected by the party of the candidate winning the most popular votes in a state become the electors for that state.

Instead of just tallying the total number of votes cast across the nation in presidential elections, votes are counted state-by-state. The winner of the popular vote in each state is awarded the electoral votes for that state. The candidate winning the majority of electoral votes wins.

Answer 6

When the guys got together to write the constitution they were actually afraid that true democracy might not serve them well. Remember these were highly educated wealthy men and they sure wouldn't want a bunch of uneducated farmers controlling the choice of president. So they implemented a system that could be controlled and leave the choice of president up to the elite, rather than the common man.

Answer 7

For an explanation of the reasons for the electoral collage, I recommend the Federalist Papers. They are a series of articles written by members of the constitutional convention to persuade voters to adopt the constitution.

As for internet voting: If you think there are a lot of accusations of vote fraud now, you can't imagine what internet voting would do.

Answer 8

For the same reason Florida couldn't choose a winner. It is virtually impossible to count millions of votes accurately.

Anything resembling a close race would be recounted 'til the end of time, because every time you count it the numbers will change slightly.

Its kind of like counting grains of sand in a jar. It can be done, but you'll always miss one or two. They get dropped, or they stick together, or you accidentally count one twice. No two counts will ever be precise.

Answer 9

Because the Republicrats couldn't maintain the stranglehold they now have on our political process. With the electoral college, they can manipulate the vote any way they damn well please (or steal an election [or two] at their leisure).
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We must turn our country from a republic (which is a state governed by representative elected by the people) to a true democracy (which is a state wherein the people hold all the power). You're right: with today's technology, a popular vote would be easy, and you would see more voter turn-out (which the Republicrats don't want because higher vote turn-outs may increase their chances of losing their re-election). -RKO-

Answer 10

"Why do we not ......... ?"

Well, because the Constitution is law and the Constitution was written over 200 years ago way before anyway ever heard of "PCs." We continue following the same rule that our Founding Fathers laid out because of the simple fact that what they wrote is law. If you want to change the law, you need a super-majority in Congress and the states to do it. Finding a super-majority in both Congress and the states to amend the Constitution has always been difficult.