Posted on Nov 17, 2016
Calls grow to abolish the Electoral College
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http://www.msnbc.com/brian-williams/watch/calls-grow-to-abolish-the-electoral-college [login to see] 46
Wow.
Wow.
Calls grow to abolish the Electoral College
Posted from msnbc.com
Election 2016
Donald Trump
Hillary Clinton
Government
Posted >1 y ago
Responses: 20
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As abolishing the Electoral College would require a Constitutional Amendment I propose instead we implement Alexander Hamiltons proposed Amendment that would retain the Electoral College but mandate that states award/select Electors (members of the Electoral College) based on individual congressional districts.
This would restore the Electoral College to it's original purpose of giving the smaller states a (slightly) greater say than the large ones but eliminates the whole notion of "safe" and "swing" states that have turned our entire election system into a mess.
I actually think that Hamilton's amendment stands a slightly greater chance of success than one that would implement a popular vote but of course that's not saying much.
This would restore the Electoral College to it's original purpose of giving the smaller states a (slightly) greater say than the large ones but eliminates the whole notion of "safe" and "swing" states that have turned our entire election system into a mess.
I actually think that Hamilton's amendment stands a slightly greater chance of success than one that would implement a popular vote but of course that's not saying much.
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SFC Robert Escher
I I agree with you completely. The electoral college was made for a reason and that is equality among the states. Political party not with standing. There was two parties back in 1700's as well but they knew what would happen and saw it happening between the states then. Yes it would be easier to have more than two parties ( all reality we do now)
But we the people have decided we want two. This all about equality between the states
But we the people have decided we want two. This all about equality between the states
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The way it is setup is the way it is setup...Especially to protect smaller states with their votes. It has worked in the past and now all the sudden Hillary doesn't get elected everyone wants to abolish it. Is it the best way...maybe not but popular vote certainly isn't. The sheer number of votes in California and Texas et al will override any other votes just in raw numbers.
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CW3 Harvey K.
What it comes down to is that some still think the USA is a "democracy". We are not. We are a constitutional republic formed from a union of sovereign states. We do not simply count popular votes, for to do so would create a tyranny of the majority. Those less populous states must have their status respected in our national politics.
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Lt Col Scott Shuttleworth
TSgt Frank Shirley - I doubt there would be a flood of tears...becaue the GOP has won both...many times. I has only happened 5 times where electoral college got elected without popular vote including the latest in the nations history. The one prior to this one was Al Gore and George Bush (first election)where the Republican party won the electoral not the popular...second term...different story..won both. Prior to that the other three were in the 1800s...Andrew Jackson (Founder of the Democratic Party) in 1824 won the electoral votes not the popular vote...Samuel Tilden in 1876 (Democratic Party) lost the electoral votes but won the popular vote...Grover Cleveland won the popular vote in three elections but only had electoral in two-he was the only one that served two non consecutive terms.
My point is this...it works...with all of our elections over time it has stood the test of time and it works. As CW 3 Keck stated above, it is there to protect the less populous states from being overrun. All states are equal, sovereign states and need to have equal and fair representation...even with the electoral college it is skewed at times like Hawaii...6 hours prior to their polls being opened, they had already posted their electoral votes for Hillary without hearing the voice of their people...is that fair...not in the least but it happened.
My point is this...it works...with all of our elections over time it has stood the test of time and it works. As CW 3 Keck stated above, it is there to protect the less populous states from being overrun. All states are equal, sovereign states and need to have equal and fair representation...even with the electoral college it is skewed at times like Hawaii...6 hours prior to their polls being opened, they had already posted their electoral votes for Hillary without hearing the voice of their people...is that fair...not in the least but it happened.
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SSG Jessica Bautista Every so often there is a clamoring for abolition for the constitutional amendment to eliminate the Electoral college and move from a representative republic system to a full political democracy which ignores the state boundaries. There was no clamoring for an abolishment of the electoral college when Bill Clinton won in 1992 or Barack Obama won in 2008.
The founding fathers saw the tyranny of democracy in the reign of terror in France. Democracy can work well in small homogeneous areas but it is difficult to stop demagogues from becoming dictators.
1. We probably won't know what the real vote count is for the nation since many states only count absentee ballots and military ballots if the state election results are perceived to be close.
2. The electoral college and the primary system are primary components of the representative republic. The primary system has some of the smallest states go first so that candidates campaign in Iowa and New Hampshire fist instead of New York and California where the bulk of the population has been [although it is declining as the 2010 census showed].
The electoral college mirrors the Congress by design. Each state in the Union is equal in power and prestige. Wealth and population have shifted a great deal since 1776 and most likely will continue to shift. The electoral college system enables a quicker result than waiting on the popular vote to be completely counted. Every election we have a few Congressional seats which are contested long after election day while the votes are being counted.
3. We have been dealing with gerrymandering in northern Virginia when the democrat majority redistricted a senate seat district to keep a conservative out over 10 years ago. He had planned on moving out of the area to be closer to his grandkids after his wife had a serious head surgery. That man is now the leader of the Virginia senate. However we have a senate district which includes a slice of Loudoun County and snakes around the southern border of the Potomac River to the democrat stronghold of Alexandria where the bulk of the voters are. Thanks for drawing my attention to the discussionCPT L S
LTC Stephen C. Maj William W. 'Bill' Price Capt Christopher Mueller Capt Seid Waddell CW5 (Join to see) SMSgt Minister Gerald A. Thomas SGM David W. Carr LOM, DMSM MP SGT SFC Joe S. Davis Jr., MSM, DSL SSG James J. Palmer IV aka "JP4" SSgt (Join to see) SGT (Join to see) SP5 Mark Kuzinski SGT Forrest Stewart SGT John " Mac " McConnell SGT Robert George SPC (Join to see) SrA Christopher Wright
The founding fathers saw the tyranny of democracy in the reign of terror in France. Democracy can work well in small homogeneous areas but it is difficult to stop demagogues from becoming dictators.
1. We probably won't know what the real vote count is for the nation since many states only count absentee ballots and military ballots if the state election results are perceived to be close.
2. The electoral college and the primary system are primary components of the representative republic. The primary system has some of the smallest states go first so that candidates campaign in Iowa and New Hampshire fist instead of New York and California where the bulk of the population has been [although it is declining as the 2010 census showed].
The electoral college mirrors the Congress by design. Each state in the Union is equal in power and prestige. Wealth and population have shifted a great deal since 1776 and most likely will continue to shift. The electoral college system enables a quicker result than waiting on the popular vote to be completely counted. Every election we have a few Congressional seats which are contested long after election day while the votes are being counted.
3. We have been dealing with gerrymandering in northern Virginia when the democrat majority redistricted a senate seat district to keep a conservative out over 10 years ago. He had planned on moving out of the area to be closer to his grandkids after his wife had a serious head surgery. That man is now the leader of the Virginia senate. However we have a senate district which includes a slice of Loudoun County and snakes around the southern border of the Potomac River to the democrat stronghold of Alexandria where the bulk of the voters are. Thanks for drawing my attention to the discussionCPT L S
LTC Stephen C. Maj William W. 'Bill' Price Capt Christopher Mueller Capt Seid Waddell CW5 (Join to see) SMSgt Minister Gerald A. Thomas SGM David W. Carr LOM, DMSM MP SGT SFC Joe S. Davis Jr., MSM, DSL SSG James J. Palmer IV aka "JP4" SSgt (Join to see) SGT (Join to see) SP5 Mark Kuzinski SGT Forrest Stewart SGT John " Mac " McConnell SGT Robert George SPC (Join to see) SrA Christopher Wright
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