4 ms·

States aren't a particularly meaningful counting unit: California encompasses more than 68 Wyomings by population. And the meaning of "carrying" a state by a 44

States aren't a particularly meaningful counting unit: California encompasses more than 68 Wyomings by population. And the meaning of "carrying" a state by a 44.1% to 44.0% plurality is questionable. The current division in the US is urban vs rural, with turnout differences and suburbs deciding elections.

paulddraper 9y ago
Number of states is indeed misleading. If each party gets half the states, it's a Democrat victory. E.g. Carter carries 24 states and Ford carries 27; Carter wins 297-240.
- paulddraper 9y ago
  I'm really confused by the downvotes. This is the material evidence of > The current division in the US is urban vs rural I.e. you have to look at populations of states, not just state counts themselves.
  - brianzelip 9y ago
    Maybe you got down voted because 24 + 27 != 50?
    - grzm 9y ago
      Likely 'paulddraper is using 24 to mean 23 states + DC: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_presidential_election,_1976 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_presidential_ele... (The election even included a faithless elector, something you don't see every day.)
      - paulddraper 9y ago
        Indeed. It was a vote by a Republican for the Libertarian nomination. It was also notable for being the first electoral vote for a ticket with a woman.
    - dragonwriter 9y ago
      D.C. is usually counted as a state in discussion of Presidential elections since it was alotted electors under the 23rd Amendment. (This actually comports with a common practice in federal statute law where any of the federal territories that are treated equal to a state in the particular law are simply lumped into the law’s particular definition of “state”, which is then used to refer to actual stated plus the equivalent-to-state territories in the context of that law.)
noobermin 9y ago
It doesn't matter, the US presidential election isn't very representative, it values some groups' votes more than others.

paulddraper 9y ago

Number of states is indeed misleading. If each party gets half the states, it's a Democrat victory. E.g. Carter carries 24 states and Ford carries 27; Carter wins 297-240.

paulddraper 9y ago
I'm really confused by the downvotes. This is the material evidence of > The current division in the US is urban vs rural I.e. you have to look at populations of states, not just state counts themselves.
- brianzelip 9y ago
  Maybe you got down voted because 24 + 27 != 50?
  - grzm 9y ago
    Likely 'paulddraper is using 24 to mean 23 states + DC: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_presidential_election,_1976 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_presidential_ele... (The election even included a faithless elector, something you don't see every day.)
    - paulddraper 9y ago
      Indeed. It was a vote by a Republican for the Libertarian nomination. It was also notable for being the first electoral vote for a ticket with a woman.
  - dragonwriter 9y ago
    D.C. is usually counted as a state in discussion of Presidential elections since it was alotted electors under the 23rd Amendment. (This actually comports with a common practice in federal statute law where any of the federal territories that are treated equal to a state in the particular law are simply lumped into the law’s particular definition of “state”, which is then used to refer to actual stated plus the equivalent-to-state territories in the context of that law.)

noobermin 9y ago

It doesn't matter, the US presidential election isn't very representative, it values some groups' votes more than others.