I know that the supreme court decided the outcome in 2000 as I know there is lots of controversy over who actually won both the 00 and 04 elections; ie electronic voting-Diebold. But if you can, please put that aside. the far-left and the far-right make up about 25% each of the electorate. Thus, the remaining 50% are in the middle. Do not the moderates, aka "swing voters" actually decide the outcome?
2007-02-08 16:16:22 · 11 answers · asked by Anonymous in Politics & Government ➔ Elections
First off, if you think the Supreme Court 'decided the outcome' in 2000 you're either pursuing an agenda, misinformed, or just intellectually lazy.
If you want to be cynical about it, the Electoral College decides the outcome, because they're the ones who actually cast the votes that make the final decision.
A mathematical approach would be to say that the first person who casts a vote above the total received by the opponent 'decides' the outcome. But there is no way to ever know who this person is, at least not in any large scale election.
It could be said that the 'middle' decide elections because their votes are most likely to *change* from one election to the next. But even that would not be enough if not added to the 'base' which each party or candidate relies on.
Which leaves us with the old concept that the voters as a whole decide the outcome, ideally each person voting independently without knowing how others have voted.
2007-02-08 16:29:50 · answer #1 · answered by dukefenton 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Hence the name swing voters! Your generalization is overstated however. Only the people in the very middle are moderates. The far-lefts and far-rights have been identified. The voters to be careful with are those that are not quite to the extreme. They actually decide the vote, because those that are close to the middle do not usually vote.
2007-02-08 16:33:34 · answer #2 · answered by rdappa 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
No. The president is not elected by popular vote. He/she is elected by the electoral college which is composed of people who are precinct chairmen (2) from each state, I believe. They are suppose to vote by how the people have voted but they do have the option to vote however they please. With both elections, 00 & 04 GW Bush did not win by popular vote. But he won by electoral votes & that is how it is decided.
2007-02-08 17:35:57 · answer #3 · answered by Sarah 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Al Gore have been given each and every recount he asked for. He lost. era. The regulation says that the election must be sealed via a definite date. for the time of that element Gore did 3 recounts. whilst the Florida ideal court docket tried to violate the regulation, the suitable court docket intervened. He lost. era. recover from it.
2016-11-02 23:08:54 · answer #4 · answered by ? 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The electoral college.
2007-02-08 17:24:09 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Well actually, none of them actually determine the outcome. The politicians do. Presidential elections are won solely be electoral votes, which may or may not be based on the popular vote.
2007-02-08 16:25:01 · answer #6 · answered by stephieSD 7 · 0⤊ 3⤋
The "rest" are people that don't care anymore and just pick between the evil of 2 lessers. Thta's why we need a 3rd party!
2007-02-08 16:24:21 · answer #7 · answered by columind99 6 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Nope. Its the MTV voters that are the deciding factor.
2007-02-08 16:18:53 · answer #8 · answered by bittersweet 5 · 0⤊ 1⤋
The plutocrats
2007-02-08 16:23:33 · answer #9 · answered by somathus 7 · 1⤊ 1⤋
the supreme court.
2007-02-08 16:59:55 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋