Page 3 of 4 [ 54 posts ]  Go to page Previous  1, 2, 3, 4  Next


Is it fair if the Electoral college chooses a candidate who did not win the popular vote?
Yes 50%  50%  [ 12 ]
No 33%  33%  [ 8 ]
It depends 17%  17%  [ 4 ]
Total votes : 24

Dox47
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 28 Jan 2008
Gender: Male
Posts: 13,670
Location: Seattle-ish

16 Jan 2017, 3:30 pm

feral botanist wrote:
I am curious if people think it is fair and I want to know why.


And you've gotten answers, that you've tried to reframe in ways that reflect poorly on the people posting them. Basically, you keep asking everyone who posts why they think the system is fair why they keep beating their wife.

feral botanist wrote:
I am purposely taking your arguments to an absurdity, once again I am trying to understand. If I have stated your argument uncorrectly, I expect you to correct my understanding, but we can only do this if you are willing to communicate.


But you refuse to engage when your own argument is taken to absurdity; what should I take from that?

feral botanist wrote:
I bring this up now, because are seeing it happen. It happened once beforeb and I did not think it fair then and I have want a direct democracy since.


Then why didn't you bring it up before the election? Didn't seem such a bad system when it was going to deliver an HRC presidency?

feral botanist wrote:
I think we have a duty, to try to change the government when it does wrong, and look, no more slavery and currently no "gay camps", so the majority must have some morality.


But those things have been instituted democratically before, and your argument seems to boil down to "anything less than absolute popular democracy is not fair", so it's fair to question if you'd support unjust positions if they were approved by a majority.

feral botanist wrote:


So, you can post a link, I don't see any evidence you can correctly identify and correct a logical fallacy, let alone which one you think I've committed.

feral botanist wrote:
If you think this is a trap, then why did/do you bother answering?


I enjoy seeing people hoisted upon their own petards; this struck me as a good opportunity.

feral botanist wrote:
It is only a trap if you can not address the question asked. Ask your own question in another thread and see if I can address it.


I have addressed it, as have others, you just don't want to accept the answers as given, and keep attempting to twist them to support your own preferred conclusion.


_________________
Your boos mean nothing, I've seen what makes you cheer.

- Rick Sanchez


EzraS
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 24 Sep 2013
Gender: Male
Posts: 27,828
Location: Twin Peaks

16 Jan 2017, 3:54 pm

Raptor wrote:
Apparently the left has just recently discovered that we have an electoral college, and now that the bogey man has won the election via electoral votes they want it done away with.....for now.


Yep that sums it up. If it had been the other way around, then they'd be 100% in favor of keeping it as a safeguard.



Kraichgauer
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 12 Apr 2010
Gender: Male
Posts: 49,239
Location: Spokane area, Washington state.

16 Jan 2017, 5:05 pm

EzraS wrote:
Raptor wrote:
Apparently the left has just recently discovered that we have an electoral college, and now that the bogey man has won the election via electoral votes they want it done away with.....for now.


Yep that sums it up. If it had been the other way around, then they'd be 100% in favor of keeping it as a safeguard.


I was actually against the Electoral College way back when I was in high school, which was over thirty years ago. Trust me, I've been consistent about this for years.


_________________
-Bill, otherwise known as Kraichgauer


Adamantium
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 6 Feb 2013
Age: 1025
Gender: Female
Posts: 5,863
Location: Erehwon

16 Jan 2017, 5:07 pm

EzraS wrote:
Raptor wrote:
Apparently the left has just recently discovered that we have an electoral college, and now that the bogey man has won the election via electoral votes they want it done away with.....for now.


Yep that sums it up. If it had been the other way around, then they'd be 100% in favor of keeping it as a safeguard.


I don't think that's completely fair. While there is a strong element of "Wah! We lost! No Fair! Change the rules now!" to this, it's documented fact that people have been calling for the end of the electoral college system for many years.

Google "electoral college reform" and specify a date rang of 2000-2012 and you'll see what I mean.

People of all political persuasions have long argued that the current system is not a good one.


_________________
Don't believe the gender note under my avatar. A WP bug means I can't fix it.


Raptor
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 8 Mar 2007
Gender: Male
Posts: 12,997
Location: Southeast U.S.A.

16 Jan 2017, 6:56 pm

Adamantium wrote:
EzraS wrote:
Raptor wrote:
Apparently the left has just recently discovered that we have an electoral college, and now that the bogey man has won the election via electoral votes they want it done away with.....for now.


Yep that sums it up. If it had been the other way around, then they'd be 100% in favor of keeping it as a safeguard.


I don't think that's completely fair. While there is a strong element of "Wah! We lost! No Fair! Change the rules now!" to this, it's documented fact that people have been calling for the end of the electoral college system for many years.

Google "electoral college reform" and specify a date rang of 2000-2012 and you'll see what I mean.

People of all political persuasions have long argued that the current system is not a good one.


Doing away with the EC is not a new idea but the recent rash of post November 8 cries, figuratively and literally, to eliminate it speak volumes.
I was once against the EC myself in favor of strictly popular vote but did a little research and discovered the rationale for the EC.


_________________
"The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants."
- Thomas Jefferson


EzraS
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 24 Sep 2013
Gender: Male
Posts: 27,828
Location: Twin Peaks

16 Jan 2017, 11:09 pm

Right I was going to say it's not how long people have been saying the EC should be done away with, but how much mileage the subject has gotten lately.

Add to that the amount of desperation exhibited in trying to get electors to change their minds and cheat. The left have not given themselves a particularly good reputation in all of this.

And next we will get to see how much disruption they will attempt to cause on inauguration day, furthering the perception of them as an irrational angry mob.



BaalChatzaf
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 11 Mar 2008
Gender: Male
Posts: 1,050
Location: Monroe Twp. NJ

16 Jan 2017, 11:41 pm

feral botanist wrote:
Twice in my life the winner of the popular vote did not become the president.

I know how the system works and I am not asking specifically about this election.


Consider the alternative. If the National Offices of President and Vice President were decided by a majority (or plurality) of the popular vote then the the elections would be decided in the major metropolitan areas. Thirty Five of the Fifty States would become "fly over" States. People living in the smaller population states (with few electors) would be swamped by the metro vote in each and every Presidential election. Not good.


_________________
Socrates' Last Words: I drank what!! !?????


Campin_Cat
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 6 May 2014
Age: 63
Gender: Female
Posts: 25,953
Location: Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.A.

18 Jan 2017, 4:05 pm

Whenever I've wanted to learn something that has to do with math, I've always put it in extremely small numbers----and then, work-out from there. The following example helped me to understand why the Electoral College, is needed----maybe, it will help someone else.....

Let's say we only had 10 states in our country. Nine of them had exactly 100 people, each----and, the last one had exactly 1,000 people. Now, let's say that the EC gives each state 1 vote, for each 100 people----so, the state with 1,000 people would get 10 votes. It would then take 11 states to beat that one state (otherwise, that one state would be deciding every election)----but, we don't have 11 states to beat that one, we only have 9. If, then, each state was given 2 votes, each, for their 2 senators, then each state would have 3 votes----and, the state with 1,000 people would have 12----and, NOW, it would only take 5 states to beat that one state (and thus, being fair, because it's giving the less-populated states, a voice).

Also, if our example country was a Democracy (instead of what we are, a Republic)----and thus, the individual people decided the presidency----then, again, that 1 state could decide the presidency, ALONE, because that one state has more people, than all the other 9 states, put together.

Now, obviously, there's all kinds of holes to be found in this example, because we have more states / people, and not every state is a winner-takes-all state, and my example is making it so every person in each small-population state is voting for the same candidate----and, AGAINST the largest-populated state----but, like I said, the math started there, for me, in helping me to understand the EC; so, I thought it might help someone else.





_________________
White female; age 59; diagnosed Aspie.
I use caps for emphasis----I'm NOT angry or shouting. I use caps like others use italics, underline, or bold.
"What we know is a drop; what we don't know, is an ocean." (Sir Isaac Newton)


EzraS
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 24 Sep 2013
Gender: Male
Posts: 27,828
Location: Twin Peaks

19 Jan 2017, 9:26 am

Exactly. Every single one of those 3 million extra votes Hillary got, could have all been cast in extremely blue and heavily populated California. Which means 1 state out of 49 would have been the decider.



The_Walrus
Forum Moderator
Forum Moderator

User avatar

Joined: 27 Jan 2010
Age: 30
Gender: Male
Posts: 8,878
Location: London

19 Jan 2017, 10:26 am

Firstly, having a president is stupid and inherently unrepresentative. You can't elect a President that is 50% Republican 50% Democrat (let alone representing other parties). Get rid of it and give their powers to Congress.

Secondly, it's "fair" because it is known about in advance, but it's unrepresentative and a bad system.

The popular vote means that every state and every vote counts. The electoral college means that only a few states count. A president could theoretically get elected by appealing to 50% of people in the 10 largest states. The other 50%? The other 40 states? You can ignore them. In reality, with the system as it is, both parties ignore "safe" states of either shade and focus on about 10 "swing" states. The other 40 states, once again, get ignored.

Under the popular vote, Republicans have a reason to visit California and Democrats have a reason to visit Texas. Both parties have reasons to visit Wyoming and DC.

EzraS wrote:
Exactly. Every single one of those 3 million extra votes Hillary got, could have all been cast in extremely blue and heavily populated California. Which means 1 state out of 49 would have been the decider.

That's not how it works at all.

Clinton couldn't have won without the support of people in something like 45 of the 51 territories, including some very very red ones.

The amount she won by doesn't matter, just that she won at all. She doesn't start off on the same number as Trump and then magically add Californians. In fact, California would be less helpful for the Democrats because there are millions and millions of Republicans in California. At the moment, all those Republicans effectively "count" for the Democrats, a ridiculous situation.

If three million Californian Democrats switched their vote then Trump would have won the popular vote. But by that logic, if 400,000 Texan Republicans had switched their vote then Clinton would have won the electoral college. The electoral college distorts power much more than the popular vote would do. Edit: actually it's 1.5m Californians.



EzraS
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 24 Sep 2013
Gender: Male
Posts: 27,828
Location: Twin Peaks

19 Jan 2017, 1:19 pm

Meh too confusing. It should be left up to a personal contest between the two. Perhaps something Hunger Games style.



Campin_Cat
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 6 May 2014
Age: 63
Gender: Female
Posts: 25,953
Location: Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.A.

19 Jan 2017, 1:28 pm

The_Walrus and Campin_Cat wrote:
Firstly, having a president is stupid and inherently unrepresentative. You can't elect a President that is 50% Republican 50% Democrat (let alone representing other parties). Get rid of it and give their powers to Congress.

I hope, then, that you are ALSO an advocate of getting rid of your Prime Minister, and giving her powers to parliament.

The popular vote means that every state and every vote counts. The electoral college means that only a few states count. A president could theoretically get elected by appealing to 50% of people in the 10 largest states. The other 50%? The other 40 states? You can ignore them. In reality, with the system as it is, both parties ignore "safe" states of either shade and focus on about 10 "swing" states. The other 40 states, once again, get ignored.

LOL You just defeated your own argument that the popular vote, is BEST----because it's TRUE that an election could be decided, by only 10 states; therefore, NOT every state / person would count!!

Whereas, there might be a scenario where a candidate had 269 electoral votes, and then here comes Wyoming (the very least populated) with their 3 electoral votes, and puts the candidate over the top, and claims a voice in the election----whereas, they WOULDN'T have a voice, in a Democracy (popular vote election).


Under the popular vote, Republicans have a reason to visit California and Democrats have a reason to visit Texas. Both parties have reasons to visit Wyoming and DC.

Again, you've defeated your argument for the popular vote, because NEITHER candidate would have a reason to visit Wyoming and D.C. (the no.1 and no.3 least populated areas, respectively).

EzraS wrote:
Exactly. Every single one of those 3 million extra votes Hillary got, could have all been cast in extremely blue and heavily populated California. Which means 1 state out of 49 would have been the decider.

That's not how it works at all.

Clinton couldn't have won without the support of people in something like 45 of the 51 territories, including some very very red ones.

Why, not? PE Trump only needed 29!!

The amount she won by doesn't matter, just that she won at all. She doesn't start off on the same number as Trump and then magically add Californians. In fact, California would be less helpful for the Democrats because there are millions and millions of Republicans in California. At the moment, all those Republicans effectively "count" for the Democrats, a ridiculous situation.

They DO both start-off at the same number - ZERO!!

California would NOT be "less helpful for the Democrats", because, IIRC, California has 15% MORE Democrats, than Republicans----and, that entire bunch, plus some, would have to defect (their party), for California to be "less helpful"; and, since California has been a historically Democrat-voting state, well..... LOL


If three million Californian Democrats switched their vote then Trump would have won the popular vote. But by that logic, if 400,000 Texan Republicans had switched their vote then Clinton would have won the electoral college. The electoral college distorts power much more than the popular vote would do. Edit: actually it's 1.5m Californians.

Geez, I thought MY math was bad----PE Trump won Texas, by almost 9% of the votes; that means well over 800,000 Republican Texans would've had to have jumped-ship (abandon their party), for Hillary to win the Electoral College, given that logic.

The Electoral College doesn't "distort power"----the party that WINS, has the power, regardless if they're elected by a popular vote, or an Electoral College vote.




BTDT
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 26 Jul 2010
Age: 62
Gender: Non-binary
Posts: 7,950

19 Jan 2017, 1:36 pm

Neither candidate got what they wanted.
HRC didn't become president.
Trump really would have wanted to win the popular vote but lose the actual election, so he could lead via tweets without having to do all the other stuff that comes with the presidency.



Campin_Cat
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 6 May 2014
Age: 63
Gender: Female
Posts: 25,953
Location: Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.A.

19 Jan 2017, 1:36 pm

EzraS wrote:
Exactly. Every single one of those 3 million extra votes Hillary got, could have all been cast in extremely blue and heavily populated California. Which means 1 state out of 49 would have been the decider.

EXACTLY----except "1 state out of 50", plus D.C (wink); but, yeah.....








_________________
White female; age 59; diagnosed Aspie.
I use caps for emphasis----I'm NOT angry or shouting. I use caps like others use italics, underline, or bold.
"What we know is a drop; what we don't know, is an ocean." (Sir Isaac Newton)


Campin_Cat
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 6 May 2014
Age: 63
Gender: Female
Posts: 25,953
Location: Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.A.

19 Jan 2017, 1:41 pm

EzraS wrote:
Meh too confusing. It should be left up to a personal contest between the two. Perhaps something Hunger Games style.

LOL I'd vote for that!!









_________________
White female; age 59; diagnosed Aspie.
I use caps for emphasis----I'm NOT angry or shouting. I use caps like others use italics, underline, or bold.
"What we know is a drop; what we don't know, is an ocean." (Sir Isaac Newton)


MDD123
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 6 May 2009
Age: 41
Gender: Male
Posts: 2,007

20 Jan 2017, 3:16 am

I actually don't mind the electoral college. What I think is unfair is that felons are denied the right to vote in several states


_________________
I'm a math evangelist, I believe in theorems and ignore the proofs.