3 ms·
Sure, except popular vote does not matter, nor should it. If it did, CA and NY's echo boxes would run the US, and there would be no US in short order. Don't for
by jakeogh 10y ago
Sure, except popular vote does not matter, nor should it. If it did, CA and NY's echo boxes would run the US, and there would be no US in short order. Don't forged why the Unites States exists; taxation without representation.
He could have lost FL _or_ OH and still won.
- peterclary 10y agoI don't understand this idea that just because somebody lives in a particular state their vote should count less than somebody in a different state. That seems evidently unfair.
- tkwj 10y agoThe fairness is intended at the state level. How your state decides on electors is their law. It doesn't even have to poll each individual, historically state legislatures even did it themselves.
- rbanffy 10y agoIt exists because some states are very sparsely populated while others actively suppress the votes of a large portion of its population, first by slavery, then by other methods. It's fair to increase representation of underpopulated states because their interests would be underrepresented if not (and it's a good thing because it allows large areas to be dedicated to nature). Unfortunately, there is no mechanism in place that actively punishes voter suppression. Voters per inhabitant ratio and election turnout could be used to penalize states with low engagement to ensure voter suppression does not occur.
- baddox 10y agoI still don't get it. Why would sparsely populated states' interests be underrepresented if every individual vote were equal? That only makes sense if you think land area or population density is a primary unit of relevance regarding political influence, which to me seems completely arbitrary.
- dllthomas 10y agoOne sq mile, one vote!
- rbanffy 10y agoPeople who live in underpopulated states have a valid argument in that, if their votes are not weighted to compensate for the low density, their voices may end up not being heard. This weighting creates a minimum limit for representation. It, however, removes the penalty for suppressing votes because the remaining votes continue to have a fixed weight.
- baddox 10y agoPopular vote doesn't matter for who becomes president, but neither does the presence or lack of a "landslide." But both can certainly be relevant when analyzing an election. Also, the "CA and NY would run the US" is an extremely weak argument. It's logically equivalent to saying that Texas and Oklahoma are currently running the US, since their electoral votes are sufficient to swap the winner from Trump to Clinton.
- eli_gottlieb 10y ago>Also, the "CA and NY would run the US" is an extremely weak argument. It's logically equivalent to saying that Texas and Oklahoma are currently running the US, since their electoral votes are sufficient to swap the winner from Trump to Clinton. Actually, I don't think it's equivalent, since basically no Congressional majority or Presidency has been won without the South for the past 50 or so years. You can actually estimate which party will be dominant in an American party system by looking at who consistently holds the South, irrespective of how other regions vote. So California and the Northeast can consistently vote one way, and it basically just doesn't matter if the South happens to disagree.
- baddox 10y agoI don't understand. It sounds like you're saying that the South "runs the country" in the wording of the original claim.
- eli_gottlieb 10y agoThat is what I'm saying. The South runs the country, and the rest of us are forced along for the ride, whether we want it or not.
- eli_gottlieb 10y agoWe all know that the Electoral College and these complaints about California and New York are disingenuous. They're devices to make sure the South controls the country. So, did Trump win by a lot when you take out California and New York? Yes. He also lost by a lot when you take out the South. Population is the only fair metric for weighting regions against each other. The South is not entitled to control everyone else's lives, especially since they're the damned region that demanded extra Representatives for their slaves.
- jakeogh 10y agoFunny that you think CA and NY are so entitled. I don't have a map handy, are MI and PA in the south too now?