why bother voting

[fortheluvofpooh]

I am looking at the news and it shows such a close race in the popular vote, but it doesn't matter does it?!! it is all about the electoral vote. It usually is pretty close on as to popular siding with electoral, doesn't seem so here.

 

[Suzie Zoo]

I believe the electoral voting is important and that it actually protects us. My prediction that either way 50% of the country would be very unhappy will probably, once again, be true.

 

[Poppinsme]

Gore won the popular vote in 2000. But Bush won the electorate, so became president. I think a candidate should win with only the popular vote but that is not the way it is.

 

[Nancy]

I believe the electoral voting is important and that it actually protects us. My prediction that either way 50% of the country would be very unhappy will probably, once again, be true.

Why do you feel that way? I've felt for a long time that the system is flawed, that is one of the reasons I don't get into politics or even really care about pesidential elections. It's a shame when the popular vote of the whole country means nothing.

 

[fortheluvofpooh]

Gore won the popular vote in 2000. But Bush won the electorate, so became president. I think a candidate should win with only the popular vote but that is not the way it is.

ITA I mean we are a democracy right? And if that is the case then Gore should have won then. I didn't really follow politics before and now that I do I don't like the way it is run. I know it has run this way for years. But like I said why bother voting if it means nothing.

 

[lovemygoofy]

I vote because I feel it is my duty and right and privilege as a citizen of this country. I believe in the process and I want to be able to say to my children or grandchildren that I participated in a history making election.

There are so many people in this world that don't have the freedoms that we have and some that have "elections" still don't have a choice. I don't ever want to take for granted what so many others dont have.

 

[sha_lyn]

ITA I mean we are a democracy right? And if that is the case then Gore should have won then. I didn't really follow politics before and now that I do I don't like the way it is run. I know it has run this way for years. But like I said why bother voting if it means nothing.

No we are not a Democracy, we are a Republic.

 

[Nancy]

But if the popular vote isn't counted how is that a real choice? If you can lose an election when you have the popular vote of the whole country added together than that means the majority of the country did not get their choice. Like I said I'm not upon political processes but is there any other country that votes that has this set up? A system where the popular vote means nothing?

 

[Poppinsme]

I vote because I feel it is my duty and right and privilege as a citizen of this country. I believe in the process and I want to be able to say to my children or grandchildren that I participated in a history making election.

There are so many people in this world that don't have the freedoms that we have and some that have "elections" still don't have a choice. I don't ever want to take for granted what so many others dont have.

 

[SplshMtn99]

I'm another who thinks the electorol vote system is flawed. If you drew state lines in different places, you would probably end up with different results.

If every persons vote counts, then it should be popular vote. Do away with the state lines for the sake of counting votes. Where a state line falls on a map shouldn't matter for a national position.

Its a stupid way of doing things.

 

[Suzie Zoo]

I understand arguments both for it and against it. The argument against the electoral college is obvious.

The argument for it is harder to explain.

For starters, the writers of the constitution wanted it that way. That might seem like a cop-out comment, but I don't mean it that way. They wanted the states to elect the president, not each individual person.

And I think it keeps smaller areas relevant.

It may need updating, but I'm not in favor of getting rid of it completely.

ETA: The popular vote is counted... it's just done by state instead of by the country as a whole. It's not completely ignored.

 

[sha_lyn]

One of the most compelling arguments for keeping the EC is that the major metro areas of the top 5-6 cities would most likely elect every president. It would basically silence anyone who doesn't live in one of the top metro areas. The needs and concerns of the "big city dweller" and the "rural/small town dweller" are very different.

 

[Feralpeg]

When our fore fathers wrote the Constitution, it was a different world. Back then, there was no good means for mass communication. Many people in out-lying areas had no way to hear the candidates to make responsible decisions. Many could not travel to sights to be able to vote. The electoral college was necessary. Today, there is really no excuse for folks not knowing what each candidate stands for. I really believe the popular vote would make much more sense. JMHO.

 

[Master Mason]

I know it has run this way for years.

Not for years, since the beginning, there are many good reasons for it, if you want to search on why.

I vote because I feel it is my duty and right and privilege as a citizen of this country.

I vote because people like your husband and my grandfather put their lives on the line and have died that I might be able to.

 

[Suzie Zoo]

When our fore fathers wrote the Constitution, it was a different world. Back then, there was no good means for mass communication. Many people in out-lying areas had no way to hear the candidates to make responsible decisions. Many could not travel to sights to be able to vote. The electoral college was necessary. Today, there is really no excuse for folks not knowing what each candidate stands for. I really believe the popular vote would make much more sense. JMHO.

From a communication standpoint, that's very true... but like the previous poster said, it would still be the major cities that elected the president every single election.

 

[corndog]

Voting is indeed an irrational act.

 

[Biscuitsmom31]

I have hated the electoral college since I learned about it in school. IMHO, popular vote should win period. Al Gore got cheated. Don't worry though, McCain won't because Obama's gonna win the popular vote.

 

[Suzie Zoo]

I have hated the electoral college since I learned about it in school. IMHO, popular vote should win period. Al Gore got cheated. Don't worry though, McCain won't because Obama's gonna win the popular vote.

I can understand disliking the electoral college, but Al Gore did NOT get cheated. He lost the electoral vote. It wasn't a new system that nobody had ever heard of before.

 

[corndog]

I have hated the electoral college since I learned about it in school. IMHO, popular vote should win period. Al Gore got cheated. Don't worry though, McCain won't because Obama's gonna win the popular vote.

This is an invalid claim as they were not running to get the most popular votes. Who knows how it would have turned out if that were the goal. I don't. And I know you don't.

 

[Biscuitsmom31]

This is an invalid claim as they were not running to get the most popular votes. Who knows how it would have turned out if that were the goal. I don't. And I know you don't.

You're right, I don't. I still think the electoral college is pointless and out of date. Of course, you have to consider that I'm from Oklahoma and I feel like my votes for president never count. Oklahoma is always red.