Electoral College - will it be gone by '08?

Question

For instance, we as a country elected Al Gore president. But the Electoral College elected Dubya. I was okay but dissapointed that he won but I was okay with Bush until the War in Iraq. Imagine what the world would be like with Gore as president..

But back to the topic. Under this legislation:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Popular_Vote_Interstate_Compact

the country would shift to an entirely populat vote system.
Do you support this? Do you think it will pass by '08 elections?

Yes, he did win the popular vote. I do my research.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2000_U.S._presidential_election

Read it here.

It seems I made the title misleading - the states would compile their electoral votes and give them to the person who won the popular vote. Sorry about that.

I accepted the fact Gore didn't become president. You get over it, please.

OK, the 2000 election was ONLY an example.
And I know why the Electoral College is here.
I've been in government classes. We all have.

Answer 1

No way Jose!

The electoral college serves a vital poupose, ensuring that the welfare, poverty ridden blue states cannot gain too much influence, simply by having an underclass spitting out babies by the truckload.

The Founding Fathers were alot smarter than whoever came up with abolishing the Electoral College. One of the clowns pushing this non-sense is Akhil Reed Amar, who was a consultant to the notoriously leftwing television show "The West Wing"

Thank you for playing, next!

Answer 2

The electoral college is in place for a very specific reason. It protects the rights of the less populous states from the tyranny of the more populous states. I am not surprised that you don't know this. The socialists have removed most of American History and all of Civics from the public school curriculum because uninfromed people are easier to manipulate.

But I will inform you. You must remember that both Bush and Gore were running to gather up ELECTORAL votes. Bush got the most. They were not running for popular votes so why even discuss them?

Nixon had more popular votes than Kennedy but JFK won the electoral vote. It has happend before and may happen again.

Look at it like a baseball game. Popular votes are hits; Electoral votes are runs. If team 'a' gets 20 hits but only 6 runs and team 'b' gets 7 hits but scores 7 runs who wins? Does team 'a' complain that they had more hits? No. The game is about who scores the most runs. Both parties are playing under the same rules. Don't be so quick to change them. Sure as they may work against you one time they may work for you next time.

But to answer your question directly, the electoral college will be in effect in 2008. In fact there is no real effort to change it and changing it would require a constitutional amendment. You could never get the smaller states to ratify it and give away their own power.

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Answer 3

No, I don't think it will be gone by '08. However, in many ways think it SHOULD be. There are pros and cons to the electoral college. Yes, it does give smaller states more of a say, but it also makes voters like myself feel like our vote doesn't count at all. And the reality is, most of the time it doesn't.

I am a republican living in a state that always goes blue by 5-10%. My entire side of the state tends to have poor voter turnout because we're outnumbered by the west side and know where our electoral votes are going whether we show up at the polls or not.

I think we would get a better picture of what the country wants without the electoral college. If the presidential election was based on a nationwide popular vote, I think we'd have much higher voter turnout because people would know their vote was being counted at face value. Right now I feel like I cast a "red" vote only to have it turned blue by the time it hits CNN.

Answer 4

I don't care that Gore had the popular vote. That's not how our president is elected. Of course the electoral college elected Bush because THAT'S HOW IT'S DONE AS PER OUR CONSTITUTION! The electoral college will not be gone by next year or ever!

I'm not a Bush supporter but I really wish people would stop discussing the 2000 election. That's ancient history!

Answer 5

I totally support it.

It won't happen.

Not enough Americans even understand the system we have now, so not enough people are complaining...

It's just like how people in Washington, D.C. don't have representatives in congress, it's just like how most of Americans can feel a certain way, but our government can act however they want and ignore us.

The electoral college system is outdated, but sure enough gives some states a stronger vote...there are more small states than large, really, and places like Wyoming don't want to lose power to Californians.

I think we're all Americans and Wyoming doesn't need a say in who's president because it's just a thing, not a person. We already have a senate, we don't need to elect someone who fewer of us want.

I give it until 2058, a year after some horrible incident that makes us start wanting to be equal to each other...

Answer 6

I do support it. I think the justifications for the Electoral College are a bunch of hogwash. Many states' needs still get overlooked. It's purely the preference of one unfair system over another supposed unfair system.

Will it happen by '08? No. Absolutely not. There are too many powerful people against it. Just like you support the legislation partly because you were dissapointed that Bush won the election, there were many other people sighing relief. The Electoral College "saved" them from an Al Gore presidency. Of course they'll find a way to fight for it.

The legislation may come to pass eventually, but it's got a long, tough road ahead.

Answer 7

The biggest problem with the Electoral College is that political parties are in control of them. I do not agree with the Electoral College because democracy promotes popular support, but at the same time how many people really understand politics and those running for office. I'm not sure it would be the smartest move to allow so many ignorant citizens to choose the next president. If Britney Spears ran for office, she would win by a landslide via popular vote.

Answer 8

The idea is appealing. I don't think it will be approved in time by 2008.
There are more problems related to money in politics than due to the electoral college. So I would prefer America concentrate on passing a federal financing of campaigns law before changing the electoral collage.

Answer 9

There is no way that could happen by 2008. That hairbrained scheme will never happen. If states promise their electoral votes to someone other than the candidate who wins that state, why would candidates campaign there. It would take a constitutional amendment. It will not happen in the forseeable future. I prefer not to think about what would have happened haf Gore been President on 9/11/01.

Answer 10

Nope
The electoral college does provide something it gives the smaller states a voice in elections.

If you go with just a popular vote the canidates would just go to NY, FL, TX, & CA maybe IL

So do you want to trash the whole system because you didn't like the results of 1 election?