Better Election System: Popular Vote or Electoral College?

Better Election System: Popular Vote or Electoral College?

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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  • ChrisB
    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.

    - ChrisBUS April 26, 2009 7:39AM

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  • Tara Ross
    Tara Ross is the author of "Enlightened Democracy: The Case for the Electoral College" (2004) and a co-author of "Under God: George Washington and the Question... More

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