ItHadToComeToThis Posted November 5, 2020 Share Posted November 5, 2020 How do US Elections work exactly. So far my (probably wrong) understanding is... You all go out to the polling stations / post your ballot paper with your choice of candidate. Although this doesn’t seem to decide who is president but is more of a popularity contest. Then the electoral colleges make their votes and it’s on these votes that they decide who is the next president?. If so, is there any point in even bothering to vote under this system if your vote has no impact on who actually becomes president?. Or do I have this wrong? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tex Monday Posted November 5, 2020 Share Posted November 5, 2020 Perhaps this will help. https://www.usa.gov/election 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LittleMe Jewell Posted November 6, 2020 Share Posted November 6, 2020 53 minutes ago, ItHadToComeToThis said: How do US Elections work exactly. So far my (probably wrong) understanding is... You all go out to the polling stations / post your ballot paper with your choice of candidate. Although this doesn’t seem to decide who is president but is more of a popularity contest. Then the electoral colleges make their votes and it’s on these votes that they decide who is the next president?. If so, is there any point in even bothering to vote under this system if your vote has no impact on who actually becomes president?. Or do I have this wrong? It is the vote of the people that determines the vote of the electoral college. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Talligurl Posted November 6, 2020 Share Posted November 6, 2020 Each state has a certian number of electoral votes. Equal to the number of Representatives in the House and the number of Senators a state has. The Representatives are determined by population with more populated state having more representatives. Whoever gets a majority of the votes in a particular state then gets all the electoral college votes for the state. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LittleMe Jewell Posted November 6, 2020 Share Posted November 6, 2020 4 minutes ago, Talligurl said: Whoever gets a majority of the votes in a particular state then gets all the electoral college votes for the state. Except in Maine and Nebraska. There, each allocate 2 of their votes to the overall State popular vote winner and the remaining electoral votes are allocated based on the popular vote of each Congressional district. Each state has split their electoral votes once. In 2008, Obama won the popular vote in one Congressional district, whereas McCain got the other 2 Congressional districts and the 2 statewide votes, so their 5 electoral votes were split 1 & 4. In 2016, a similar thing happened in Maine, giving Trump one of their electoral votes and Hillary the other 3. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lyssa Greymoon Posted November 6, 2020 Share Posted November 6, 2020 1 hour ago, ItHadToComeToThis said: You all go out to the polling stations / post your ballot paper with your choice of candidate. We vote for a slate of electors for the candidate. In December they meet and cast votes for President and Vice President. Because that makes sense. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Madelaine McMasters Posted November 6, 2020 Share Posted November 6, 2020 36 minutes ago, LittleMe Jewell said: It is the vote of the people that determines the vote of the electoral college. Not always! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LittleMe Jewell Posted November 6, 2020 Share Posted November 6, 2020 17 minutes ago, Madelaine McMasters said: 54 minutes ago, LittleMe Jewell said: It is the vote of the people that determines the vote of the electoral college. Not always! True. Though the recent Supreme Court ruling allows a state to remove a faithless elector and give their position to someone that will vote as the State's laws dictate. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fauve Aeon Posted November 6, 2020 Share Posted November 6, 2020 The £5 short versions: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-53558176 https://www.bbc.com/news/election-us-2020-53785985 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scylla Rhiadra Posted November 6, 2020 Share Posted November 6, 2020 36 minutes ago, Lyssa Greymoon said: We vote for a slate of electors for the candidate. In December they meet and cast votes for President and Vice President. Because that makes sense. I love that the US uses the same system to elect a president — an electoral college — that was once used to elect the Holy Roman Emperor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LittleMe Jewell Posted November 6, 2020 Share Posted November 6, 2020 (edited) Many people don't like it, but the Electoral College gives tiny states at least a bit of a say in things and encourages Presidential candidates to actually campaign and court the state. If it was completely by popular vote, Nevada, which is currently running neck-and-neck, would not even matter. They would just be too far down on the population scale. The top 15-20 states, by population, would likely always decide the elections, which would leave much of the country out of the process entirely. That is part of why our forefathers went with the electoral college method. Many countries don't understand this, but other countries are not made up of a bunch of mostly independent states. If there was a "president" (for lack of a better word) that governs all of Europe and that person was elected by the most populous European countries, it likely would not sit well with the less populated countries. Personally, I like the system that Maine & Nebraska use. By allocating some of their electoral votes based on the Congressional districts, it seems to be allocating them more closely with what the people of the state actually want. States have multiple Representatives, sometimes from one party and sometimes from both parties, based on what the people in the different areas think. Why not allocate the electoral votes based on that? Edited November 6, 2020 by LittleMe Jewell 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rowan Amore Posted November 6, 2020 Share Posted November 6, 2020 It's an archaic system that made sense way back when. Another article worth reading https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/17/books/review/let-the-people-pick-the-president-jesse-wegman.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lyssa Greymoon Posted November 6, 2020 Share Posted November 6, 2020 59 minutes ago, LittleMe Jewell said: Many people don't like it, but the Electoral College gives tiny states at least a bit of a say in things and encourages Presidential candidates to actually campaign and court the state. What it does is give candidates encouragement to put almost all of their effort into a dozen or so battleground states. Candidates have no reason to campaign at all in most of the country. But won’t someone think of Nevada? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rowan Amore Posted November 6, 2020 Share Posted November 6, 2020 3 minutes ago, Lyssa Greymoon said: What it does is give candidates encouragement to put almost all of their effort into a dozen or so battleground states. Candidates have no reason to campaign at all in most of the country. But won’t someone think of Nevada? Nevada said today they have until next Thursday to finish their count. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lyssa Greymoon Posted November 6, 2020 Share Posted November 6, 2020 12 minutes ago, RowanMinx said: Nevada said today they have until next Thursday to finish their count. It’s not really about the count, but rather does it make sense that there should be more campaign events in Nevada than in California, Texas, New York, Illinois and Massachusetts combined? That’s insane. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ultima Cloud Posted November 6, 2020 Share Posted November 6, 2020 5 minutes ago, Lyssa Greymoon said: It’s not really about the count, but rather does it make sense that there should be more campaign events in Nevada than in California, Texas, New York, Illinois and Massachusetts combined? That’s insane. All those states you listed other than maybe (big maybe) Texas are already set in stone well before the election. So yes it makes perfect sense to spend more time and money campaigning in a state that could flip either way. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lyssa Greymoon Posted November 6, 2020 Share Posted November 6, 2020 21 minutes ago, Ultimo Constantineau said: All those states you listed other than maybe (big maybe) Texas are already set in stone well before the election. So yes it makes perfect sense to spend more time and money campaigning in a state that could flip either way. That’s why our system is insane. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seicher Rae Posted November 6, 2020 Share Posted November 6, 2020 (edited) Generally speaking, it is a bad idea to get real life, serious information in a virtual world's forum. Or heck, any Internet forum, or Facebook, or Twitter, or... It may be a legit question, but if it is sincere (and I have no reason to think otherwise), this is a really unwise place to ask it. The Internet does have legit sources and at least people are pointing to those instead of the normal cranks pushing a political agenda. So far. This is only page one. https://www.ap.org/media-center/understanding-the-election Edited November 6, 2020 by Seicher Rae grammar. words. make sense. 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prokofy Neva Posted November 6, 2020 Share Posted November 6, 2020 4 hours ago, ItHadToComeToThis said: How do US Elections work exactly. So far my (probably wrong) understanding is... You all go out to the polling stations / post your ballot paper with your choice of candidate. Although this doesn’t seem to decide who is president but is more of a popularity contest. Then the electoral colleges make their votes and it’s on these votes that they decide who is the next president?. If so, is there any point in even bothering to vote under this system if your vote has no impact on who actually becomes president?. Or do I have this wrong? The electoral college members vote as their state's population votes. The problem of the faithless elector is rare. Only two states allow the split of the electoral college - imagine if they all did that, how different it would be. But it's not merely about "giving little states like Rhode Island a say". It's about letting big states like California or Texas not dominate. Now, liberals in SL may think it would be great if California dominated, but then think again, because then you're letting Texas dominate and they're a red state. Notice that while liberals/leftists were fretting about the electoral college and the "need" to change it throughout Trump's term, but now that Biden is at 264 and Trump and 214, you hear nary a complain about the electoral college LOL. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ultima Cloud Posted November 6, 2020 Share Posted November 6, 2020 (edited) 3 minutes ago, Prokofy Neva said: Notice that while liberals/leftists were fretting about the electoral college and the "need" to change it throughout Trump's term, but now that Biden is at 264 and Trump and 214, you hear nary a complain about the electoral college LOL. This is completely inaccurate. People still feel the same about the electoral as they did before. The fact this is going down to the wire even with a 4million popular vote lead is enough reason to have an issue with it. Edited November 6, 2020 by Ultimo Constantineau 3 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prokofy Neva Posted November 6, 2020 Share Posted November 6, 2020 Just now, Ultimo Constantineau said: This is completely inaccurate. People still feel the same about the electoral as they did before. The fact this is going down to the wire even with a 4million popular vote lead is enough reason to. I guess you never read the papers or have let them go in the memory hole. So let me refresh: https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/11/03/no-matter-who-wins-its-time-get-rid-electoral-college/ 2 days ago from mainstream https://www.jacobinmag.com/2020/10/electoral-college-abolish-keyssar-trump-election from far left last month https://www.brookings.edu/policy2020/bigideas/its-time-to-abolish-the-electoral-college/ liberal think tank https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2020-10-31/californians-electoral-college-compact-popular-vote mainstream but California etc. etc. etc. Google the terms. There has been a very avid call to remove/change the electoral call from liberal and leftist press. It's gone silent now as Biden has succeeded in making the system work as it should. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ultima Cloud Posted November 6, 2020 Share Posted November 6, 2020 (edited) I don't need papers or references since I actually live in it. I live in Boston. One of the more left cities and areas in the country. Trust me no left/liberal likes the electoral. They didn't during Gore/Bush. They didnt during Obama/McCain, Obama/Romney or Trump/Clinton. And they don't now. PS> I don't google terms for the benefit of my argument since you can find anything that agrees with you and cherry pick the information you want while disregarding the information that doesn't work in your favor. Besides I am not sure what you are arguing against me with those links. Seems like you proved my point with them since they go completely against your statement (which i quoted and replied to) "Notice that while liberals/leftists were fretting about the electoral college and the "need" to change it throughout Trump's term, but now that Biden is at 264 and Trump and 214, you hear nary a complain about the electoral college LOL." Edited November 6, 2020 by Ultimo Constantineau 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lyssa Greymoon Posted November 6, 2020 Share Posted November 6, 2020 8 minutes ago, Prokofy Neva said: etc. etc. etc. Google the terms. Okay. https://www.jacobinmag.com/2020/11/abolish-electoral-college-election-trump-biden yesterday. It’s not going to go away. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prokofy Neva Posted November 6, 2020 Share Posted November 6, 2020 (edited) 6 minutes ago, Lyssa Greymoon said: Okay. https://www.jacobinmag.com/2020/11/abolish-electoral-college-election-trump-biden yesterday. It’s not going to go away. Yes, thank God, none of these extremists, and that includes Washpo, are going to get their way with this, or with "Ranked Choice" being forced on us all (maybe they will be less enthusiastic about it in Maine, where it didn't help them get rid of Susan Collins, who doesn't bother me as much as them) or even with convening a constitutional convention again, which would be a nightmare. And I hope they learned their lesson, but if Biden doesn't squeak through, watch them gin all this up again. Ultimo, my Google gives me a wide variety of articles and that's how I could give you a range there. I could find pro-electoral college pieces in some of those same newspapers. And that's because I read widely. Google is not the horror imagined unless you use only Twitter for news. As for your other claims, go back and read what you wrote. You claimed that what I said was "inaccurate", i.e. that people criticized the electoral college because they felt it brought Trump. Whereas now that it is securing Biden's likely win, they are silent. And that is indeed the case. So you are contradicting yourself, not me. People don't "feel the same as they did before" as there is a wide variety of attitudes. And "going down to the wire" with still a spread of 264 to 214 is not disqualifying the electoral college system, on the contrary. PS one of the reasons I hate arguing about politics in SL is that you don't know the age, location, education level, etc. of people arguing and so it's stupid. You don't know if they have any intelligence, education, ability to think conceptually, etc. So I'm happy to leave this topic to you as it's fruitless otherwise. Edited November 6, 2020 by Prokofy Neva Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seicher Rae Posted November 6, 2020 Share Posted November 6, 2020 (edited) And literally in the short time since I wrote the first comment, talking about how cranks will come in with their agendas and how that hadn't quite happened YET, here we go. It has now happened in this thread. Again to the OP, use your common sense and your ability to do independent Internet searches. You've actually been given a few good, election 101 sites by several people (not the long list of god knows what sites). If you don't do that, and you don't avail yourself of the resources available to everyone, well, sorry (not sorry) then you are just lazy. Edited November 6, 2020 by Seicher Rae syntax Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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