Voting in US - What's the point?

[Elegiac]

How is it logical to ignore the fact that each state already has their vote? Electors (the amount of which is determined by population), express the will of their state vote in the manner that their state dictates (48 of 50 are all-or-nothing), cast their votes in the 51st election, which is when the president is actually selected.

States do not receive votes in direct proportion to their size, point in fact. The cap on the number of Senators per state and the number of total Representatives means that smaller states are significantly overvalued in terms of electoral weight. Combine this with urbanisation and you get a situation in which a majority of people's votes matter less because they live in more populated states.

And it would completely disregard the states. Or more likely, candidates would only focus on major populated centers...(Buh-bye most red-states).

Implying this is a) a bad thing, and b) that candidates don't already ignore most states where the vote outcome is fairly certain in favor of otherwise irrelevant swing states.

Now...before we go any further, to be clear, federal law...(US Constitution which respects the rights of states as entities unto themselves) doesn't have any provision for the popular vote. Which means it would take an Amendment to do. (Super-majority or Constitutional Convention) Far better and easier to simply get individual states to change the way they allocate Electoral votes.

It's ultimately more likely the American system will simply crack under the strain. The jury is still out as to whether this is a bad thing.

[Elim Garak]

The point is the same as in masturbation. Only masturbation's better.

[Spectral]

So are we better off with a dictator or monarchy? Which system do you suggest?

A limited suffrage, representative democracy is pretty good. Unfortunately, endless squabbling over how to appropriately limit suffrage results in a overall dumbing down of the electorate and a continual worsening of the options for office, culminating in two barely competent kleptocrats being the candidates.

A good starting point would be repealing the 24th Amendment.

[Sinyc]

Seeing as how the popular vote doesn't count for anything and electoral votes is what wins someone the presidency, what's the point of anyone voting? What's the point of trying to recount votes when it doesn't matter how many votes someone got?

Why do you even need to go vote at all when it's already decided by others you have no control over? Am I missing something?

You clearly don't understand how this process has worked for hundreds of years, so I won't even try to explain it. Google will help you so much.

As for the popular vote, take California out of the picture entirely and Trump won by 1 million votes. That's why popular vote isn't the system the US uses.

[Elegiac]

You clearly don't understand how this process has worked for hundreds of years, so I won't even try to explain it. Google will help you so much.

As for the popular vote, take California out of the picture entirely and Trump won by 1million+. That's why popular vote isn't the system the US uses.

Because the US doesn't believe in voter equality and never has, we're aware of this.

[ro9ue]

#1 Voting should be easier.

#2 Election Day should be a national holiday.

#3 Democrats often get fucked by the EC but don't really seem to have it high on their priority list of things to change while in power.

[Sinyc]

Because the US doesn't believe in voter equality and never has, we're aware of this.

Spin it whichever way fits your agenda. So you are fine with California single-handedly having the power to decide an election?

[Elegiac]

Spin it whichever way fits your agenda. So you are fine with California single-handedly having the power to decide an election?

Absolutely. I'd rather the millions upon millions of people in California be deciding the outcome because that is where a large proportion of voters live rather than a few hundred thousand rust belt whites in Ohio or Pennsylvania.

Moreover, direct voting means that red votes in solid blue states and vice versa actually do matter.

[Sunseeker]

Because the US doesn't believe in voter equality and never has, we're aware of this.

Oh boy! *grabs popcorn* here we go, another whine about how Wyoming has more representation than California!

[Elegiac]

Oh boy! *grabs popcorn* here we go, another whine about how Wyoming has more representation than California!

Because that is apparently the only issue with the electoral college. It's not like it enforces sectionalism, renders contrary votes in solid states pretty much irrelevant, maintains the bipartisan system, and is just incredibly byzantine and strange.

[Krippzz]

The electoral college is fine the issue is how the points are awarded. They should be awarded proportionally not winner take all.

[Sunseeker]

Because that is apparently the only issue with the electoral college.

No, I just enjoy watching people whine about it.

[Sinyc]

Absolutely. I'd rather the millions upon millions of people in California be deciding the outcome because that is where a large proportion of voters live rather than a few hundred thousand rust belt whites in Ohio or Pennsylvania.

Moreover, direct voting means that red votes in solid blue states and vice versa actually do matter.

Ugh. Welp become a politician and get a majority of the states to agree with you that one mega state should decide the election. glhf

[Sunseeker]

The electoral college is fine the issue is how the points are awarded. They should be awarded proportionally not winner take all.

Which would make the Electoral College results identical to a popular vote.

[Spectral]

#1 Voting should be easier.

Why? Voting's pretty easy already. I can't imagine how shooting to get people that are too incompetent or unmotivated to get to the polls with the current systems in place there would improve the quality of electoral decision making.

[Elegiac]

Ugh. Welp become a politician and get a majority of the states to agree with you that one mega state should decide the election. glhf

Again, I don't expect anything to really change since the most likely outcome of all of this is going to be the US cracking under the strain of its own anachronisms.

[Frogguh]

Because the US doesn't believe in voter equality and never has, we're aware of this.

And thank God for that. No way I want urban idiots in California and New York dictating what my life has to be like.

[Elegiac]

And thank God for that. No way I want urban idiots in California and New York dictating what my life has to be like.

No, you just want to dictate how their lives are.

[Sunseeker]

Again, I don't expect anything to really change since the most likely outcome of all of this is going to be the US cracking under the strain of its own anachronisms.

Oh boy! *grabs popcorn* here we go, another whine about how America is going to fall like Rome!

[Elim Garak]

Oh boy! *grabs popcorn* here we go, another whine about how America is going to fall like Rome!

it's already in the "decadence" stage.