The Electoral College was a "safety valve" measure put into the US Constitution by America's Founding Fathers to prevent a lunatic from being made president.
So much for that idea.
What most don't understand is that because of the Electoral College, when we vote for a president, we don't actually vote for a president. Instead, we are voting for representatives who will vote for a president. Each state gets as many Electoral votes as they have US Congressional representatives, or, how many US Senators and Representatives they have. This means that, in effect, only 270 people (the simple majority of the 538 Electors) decide who will be President of the United States of America, or POTUS.
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Although it can differ from state to state, usually Electors are chosen down party lines. Meaning that if you vote for the Democratic presidential candidate, you are voting for the Electors the Democratic party has chosen to cast a vote for their candidate. If you vote for the Republican, then you are voting for the Republican Electors. Most states are "winner takes all", which means if 50.1% of the vote goes to the Republican candidate then all of the state's Electors will be from the Republican party and, presumably, all of them will vote for the Republican presidential candidate. Only a few states split the electors based on the percentages of votes that went to each party.
But in any case, once the Electors go to Washington DC to cast their votes, they can vote for whomever they chose, despite pledging to vote in accordance with their state's actual vote. Most states, if any, wouldn't even consider a crime if an Elector voted against who their state's voters had voted for.
This is why I say the US Electoral College is Evil.
The Electoral College is a relic of a time when black people were considered 3/5 of a person, slavery was legal, women could not vote nor could white men, unless they owned land…all according to the US Constitution. Times and minds have changed these evil things, and we should do the same with Electoral College.
Unfortunately, since it's part of the Constitution, it would take an Amendment to the Constitution to abolish the Electoral College…which is a horrendous undertaking. Take for example the last Amendment ratified, the 27th Amendment. Although ratified in 1992, it was originally introduced to Congress in 1789 by James Maddison, the 4th POTUS! If we have to wait that long, what's the point?
But there is another route. Something called the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact is gaining traction wherein states who join the pact pledge to give their votes according to the actual, nationwide popular vote. Although not a repeal of the Electoral College, it is a more attainable fix to our broken presidential election system.
Hopefully, if enough states agree to join this pact, we can get closer to Lincoln's promise of a "government of the people, by the people, for the people".
For more information, check out: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2018/05/08/a-national-popular-vote-just-got-one-step-closer-to-reality/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.bc505a96cab0
(image source: Getty Images)
For all its drawbacks, the Electoral College does have at least one good thing about it, what happens in close elections. Say what you will about the 2000 Florida fiasco, at least all of the legal challenges and ballot recounting was in one state. Without the E.C., what might happen if the popular vote nationally was very, very close? Maybe even neither of the top two making it over 50% and, say, a 0.01% difference between them. Potentially, there could be legal challenges in all 50 states and the mother of all recounts.
Not that I think the E.C. is great, but the alternative could end up in a fustercluck.
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I get your point, but I think we are in a fustercluck now.
Because of gerrymandering, not to mention all of the mind bending from bad actors, the popular vote no longer means much. If it ever did. The last two Republican presidents were put in despite losing the popular vote, and the current one thinking he has a mandate to be Emperor of the World, despite loosing my 3 million votes and having the lowest approval ratings of any of his predecessors. That can't go on forever.
The worst thing, for me, about the EC is that it can be played easily, going against the wishes of the American people. If it IS used that way, as I think it is, then what's America about? Not Democracy. Not Equality. Not Truth or Justice. It's just not the American way. IMHO
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Unrelated to to EC, if you want to grow your account, right now the 50/50 payout option is much better than the pure Steem Power payout option. SBD can then be traded using the internal market for Steem that can be powered up.
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That is fantastic advice...thank you! I thought I was figuring something wrong when I paid for an upvote on my last post. Not only did I change over to 100% SP, but I bid on the bot with STEEM. The detail report said that I would make about $8 on my $5 bid (2 STEEM), but the vote after curation now shows that I'll only get 1.26 STEEM back. I dunno what happened. My other bids have been profitable...or at least I think they have been. With the drop in STEEM value, it's hard to calculate, as I'm still new at all this.
Anyway, I appreciate the advice. Anytime you feel like imparting some wisdom to a newbie, drop on by...I'll take all the wisdom I can get!
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The general rule of thumb is that if the price of SBD’s is more than $1 USD, 50/50 is the way to go. Back when I started, SBD’s were fluctuating slightly above and below $1 USD, so pure SP versus 50/50 was basically a tossup. But lately, SBD’s have been well above $1, for no reason that I can explain.
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The purpose of the Electoral College is to aggregate votes at the regional level (some are winner-take-all, some aren't). Different states have different values. California is very different from Wyoming. And Florida is very different from Kentucky.
The problem with a straight popular vote is that you end up with results that are only aggregated by class or ideology. In 2016 this would have been essentially the big cities winning and rural America losing. We're approaching a tipping point where in every election the popular vote will go to the liberal candidate.
That may seem like a good idea on the surface if that means your candidate wins. However, in the long run it would cause massive division in the country because rural America and its values wouldn't be represented at all. Politicians would only campaign in big population centers. The end result of that is essentially portrayed in the Hunger Games, where you have the Capitol with all the power and a rural underclass doing all the work and production until they revolt. That isn't good for America or Americans.
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Metzen, I think we are already in the Hunger Games.
Derp Furor, our POTUS, has flouted every convention and tradition set in place that, although not written law, are traditions meant to keep our government out of the stank of corruption. Nepotism, for one example. Beyond that, he has broken so many laws, both Constitutional and otherwise, one needs an advanced degree in Calculus to number them. But just his obvious trampling of the Emoluments Clause should be enough to boot his ass out. But his cronies who control Washington right now don't have the fortitude.
As for ideological equality, I'm to the point that I don't care about that. True Conservatism is dead. It has been strangled in a web of religious fanaticism, zealotry, greed, fevered capitalism and now, white supremacy, nationalism and false patriotism. Liberalism isn't perfect, but at least it hasn't given in so completely to the hypocrisy, hate and greed that has consumed so-called conservative point of view.
Nothing the RepugnantKlan party (the zombified remains of what once WAS the Republican party) has anything good to offer America. Least of all to the duped and stooooopified Trumpanzees who will lose more than anyone, once the full measure of Anus Orange's reign of stoooopidity ends. The blue collar WASP, desperate to hold on to their "privelege" in America, who voted for Trump is the main demographic who will lose their job, their home, their healthcare, and their social safety net with everything Derp Furor has planned.
The America we once knew and loved is gone. The electoral college is as much to blame for that as is Russia and their collusion with our quarter witted POS POTUS.
IMHO.
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