Gore got more votes. But Bush became president. How was it possible?
2007-12-29 11:07:08 · 11 answers · asked by wolf 6 in Politics & Government ➔ Elections
Both candidates were running to amass the most electoral votes. Bush got the most electoral votes. They were not running to amass the most popular votes. Gore got the most popular votes. It is sort of like playing baseball. Both teams are trying to amass the most runs. The team that amasses the most runs wins. The other team may get more hits but that is not what counts.
This is not the first time this has happened and it will not be the last. It is foolhardy to assume that if the goal were to amass the most popular votes that Gore would have necessarily won. If popular votes were the goal, both candidates would have campaigned differently.
By the way, the votes in Florida were recounted several times in a manner that favored Al Gore even though that manner was clearly illegal. Yet, he never came out ahead. Not a single time.
The system we use to elect the President is the Electoral College. It is designed to prevent the more populous states from controlling the Presidency. It allocates electoral votes based on population but also prevents what is called the tyranny of the majority. The United States is called that because it consists of 50 separate and equal individual States each with its own Governor. When the decision was made concerning the election of the President, they could have done one of three things. One, they could have permitted only popular votes. That would have given most of the electing power to the few most populous states. The Second was to allow all 50 States to have one vote. The candidate that got the most votes in that state would be awarded that state. That would have given too much power to the least populous states. The third way, the one we use, allocates Electoral votes according to population. This is the best balance favoring the more populous states but not by much.
Happy New Year!
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2007-12-29 11:23:43 · answer #1 · answered by Jacob W 7 · 3⤊ 0⤋
America is not a democracy nor was it founded as one. The electoral college is there to protect the people from themselves. As Winston Churchill said, "The best argument against democracy is a five-minute conversation with the average voter."
The presidency was not even subject to popular vote when this country started out. Why? How can this be? Because in this constitutional republic it isn't supposed to matter who the president is. He does not have much power under the constitution.
2007-12-29 11:15:24 · answer #2 · answered by Joey C 3 · 2⤊ 1⤋
Bush got more electoral votes. Gore tried to steal Florida by getting a team of lawyers to stop the counting of the absentee Military votes, and after three recounts Bush still won in spite of Gores attempt to cheat.
2007-12-29 11:10:22 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 3⤊ 3⤋
It's called the electoral college. Bush got more votes. Gore and his whiny Democrats cried their eyes out.
It's apparent you haven't stopped.
2007-12-29 11:21:09 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 1⤋
it was gore who took the mess to the supremes..not bush and btw..6 independent universities went to florida to do recount..and our great president won..even tho the gore folks tried to supress the military vote.
2007-12-29 11:49:45 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
Lillian don't you know Bush lost Florida even with his cheating and not allowing ballots to be counted., Gore won Florida even with Bush's illegal votes and the Gore votes that were not allowed to be counted. Bush took Florida the second time with voting machines that were rigged, had no audit trail, no paper trail and no way to recount. The new Republican governor ditched the used once machines in his first week of office.
Back to the question. Most of us that were old enough to vote in 2000 remember it well. There was a lot more to it that never made the national headlines. I've never understood why. One Democratic precinct in Jacksonville had 25,000 votes that were thrown away.
2007-12-29 11:20:59 · answer #6 · answered by lcmcpa 7 · 3⤊ 6⤋
If u notice he just happen 2 win in the state his brother was governor in. Yeah I could not believe everyone relected him in and look now at our country.....we are so broke....and everyone is loosing their homes........
2007-12-29 12:32:51 · answer #7 · answered by WhAtEvEr....... 4 · 0⤊ 1⤋
http://www.archives.gov/federal-register/electoral-college/index.html
here is a primer on the EC read and learn
2007-12-29 13:42:09 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Seven years later and people still can't let it go.
Bush won, get over it.
Bush leaves office in '09, get over it.
2007-12-29 11:18:15 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 3⤊ 2⤋
electorial college
2007-12-29 13:32:27 · answer #10 · answered by PGaeroS 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋