If presidential elections were decided by popular vote instead of the Electoral College, Al Gore would have been elected president in 2000. How we choose a president profoundly impacts how campaigns are run, the importance of swing states and an election’s outcome. It’s certainly no surprise that the Electoral College vs. popular vote controversy has sparked considerable debate. As the issue surfaces heading into November, is it time to graduate from the Founding Father's Electoral College concept, or are popularity contests no way to choose a president?
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Popular Election Ensures that the Winner will Win
- From Common Cause
By Common Cause - Holding Power Accountable
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You contradict yourself
You say: "The notion that some voters count more than others in choosing our President undermines the very principle of one-person, one-vote that our democracy is built upon."
But if we dismantle the electoral college system, then effectively the only votes that count are the votes from large urban areas. Presidential candidates would only have to appeal to the large population centers and could easily ignore the voters -- and the needs -- of outlying areas. This is a recipe for socialism... and disaster.
Further, you forget the fact that we are not a pure democracy: we are a representative democracy; we are a republic. And just as we have representatives in Congress, the Electoral College are our representatives in selecting a President. They are a check and balance against a pure popular vote, in the same way that Senators check and balance Representatives in Congress.
- FiveBoxes August 26, 2008 5:19AM
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Side: Electoral College
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Argument Logically Lacking
The author said, "Four times in our history, most recently in 2000, the candidate who received the most votes lost the presidency."
This statement is emotionally powerful, but it assumes what is to be proven. Four times the candidate who received the most -popular- votes did not win the presidency. At no point has the person with the most electoral votes lost.
"When our nation selects a leader that does not have the support of the majority of its citizens," ignores how few people actually vote.
"undermines the very principle of one-person, one-vote that our democracy is built upon."
We don't have a democracy. We have a republic.
I'm not arguing against your position. It's just your argument is full of gaping holes and circular logic.
- ChrisB
April 26, 2009 7:39AM
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Side: Uncommitted
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