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?
Please select the category that most closely reflects your concern about this content,
so that we can review it and determine whether it violates Civility 101 or isn't
appropriate for some other reason.
Abusing this feature is also a violation of Civility 101.
Explanation:
Biweekly updates on new debates and experts
Please check your email to confirm your subscription.
© 2008 Opposing Views, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Opposing Views, Inc. is not responsible for the content posted on this website. Please view full disclaimer under Terms
What's wrong with a system that works?
The system doesn't work
I'm not advocating a parliamentary system that requires post election coalitions in this way. I'm advocating a popular vote and run-off system that would allow for multiple parties to gain traction and survive. Coalitions would form before the general election and would realign before a run-off. Like him or not, the fact is that Bill Clinton is an example of a president that never won a popular majority. The majority (definition = more than half) of Americans voted against him in both elections, yet he still took office. That is not the definition of a system that works, if "majority rules" is the intention. The irony is that an amazing number of Americans that don't vote + a large number of those that do vote, still think that America is run by people that gain the majority of a vote. You and I and most of the people on this discussion board know better. I'm advocating a system that gets us closer to majority rule. The current duopoly + the electoral college = broken system.
- joelinda September 8, 2008 9:01PM
Reply to this Recommend (1)
Side: Popular Vote
Thank You for your Comment
We review all comments before they're posted. For more on our comment policy, please see our FAQ.
The founders reason
the reason we have an electoral college is because the candidates could cry foul over the votes. we saw this with Minnesota when senators coleman and franken were caught in limbo for over 4 months debating on who won, what would happen if we debated for twice that amount of time to figure out who the next, most powerful man in the world would be? there is a reason that the founders saw the need for an electoral college, and that reason was they didnt see the need for a drawn out voting process.
- camdaddy09
June 17, 2009 11:15PM
Reply to this Recommend (0)
Side: Electoral College
Thank You for your Comment
We review all comments before they're posted. For more on our comment policy, please see our FAQ.