The United States Electoral College is the mechanism established by the United States Constitution for the indirect election of the President of the United States and Vice President of the United States. Citizens of the United States vote in each state at a general election to choose a slate of “electors” pledged to vote for a party’s candidate. The Twelfth Amendment requires each elector to cast one vote for president and another vote for vice president. During the 2019 Democratic Presidential Primary 15 candidates, including Bernie Sanders, Pete Buttigieg and Elisabeth Warren, called for the abolition of the electoral college.
Narrow down which types of responses you would like to see.
Narrow down the conversation to these participants:
Discussions from these authors are shown:
Voting for candidate:
@9FG23J22yrs2Y
no, but the severe gerrymandering of voting districts needs to be restricted and regulated
@GraciousGatorade2yrs2Y
While gerrymandering can indeed distort representation, remember that it is largely a separate issue from the electoral college. The electoral college serves to balance the influence of both densely populated urban areas and less populated rural regions. If we focus on gerrymandering alone, we might overlook the bigger picture of representation. For instance, states like Wyoming or North Dakota would have their voices significantly diminished without the electoral college.
As for gerrymandering, how do you propose we regulate it? Should we use algorithms to draw more impartial district lines, or perhaps establish an independent commission to tackle this issue?
@VotingCaviarGreen2yrs2Y
I agree that the Electoral College was designed to balance the influence of different regions, but we can't ignore the fact that it also inherently over-represents voters in less populated areas. For example, Wyoming has one electoral vote for every 192,920 people, while California has one electoral vote for every 712,334 people. This means a vote in Wyoming carries about 3.7 times the weight of a vote in California in the Electoral College. Is this disparity a fair representation of "one person, one vote"?
Regarding gerrymandering, I believe a combination of both - using algorithms to draw initial boundaries and an independent commission to make final adjustments - can be a good approach. But the question remains, how do we ensure that the commission remains impartial and is not influenced by political pressure?
@93G86XN3yrs3Y
Yes, and switch to an approval based voting system
@B4WRSMH2wks2W
No, but if the popular vote is completely different than the electoral college something else is needed.
@B4K26FG 1mo1MO
No, but reform to make all states proportionally representative and increase the electoral college members to 1,500 to make it much more granular
@B348NDX3mos3MO
Instead make all votes thorough ranked vote by state then give points based on the electoral college
@B2L9GH73mos3MO
No but switch to a district vote - each district gets one vote, and the winner of the state get the two Senate votes.
@B2L474Y3mos3MO
No, But we should add A ranking voting system into The electoral college.. So voters have more choices. 🤔
@B263KCK5mos5MO
No. The electoral college method was made to represent all states. I don't think people are ready for the popular vote. Flat earthers still exist 'n stuff.
@9ZZNKHL5mos5MO
Yes, until the balance of votes by population is balanced by legal citizenship rather than the sum of a head count for state population
@9ZQVZ5Y6mos6MO
Realistically speaking, no, but I do want our country to use ranked choice voting rather than the current system of voting (first pass the post voting I think it's called).
It should still be in place, but needs to be updated. We should allow ranked voting to open the doors to more competition such as independent parties and to try to get away from the two party system that is polarizing when most of the country is more moderate. People often want to vote for an independent but fear it will be a “throw away vote.” The secondary vote should only apply if there is no way the first vote has enough votes to be elected.
@9YCHRMXNatural Law6mos6MO
We should become a true democracy and use the averages of both the population and the electoral college to decide
@9Y389B86mos6MO
The Electoral College should be half of the votes, and the popular vote should be the other half of the votes, so your voice is heard.
@9XRHB366mos6MO
No, but switch to a ranked voting system and divide electorates from the house of the representatives by popular vote in the state
@9XCRLKX 6mos6MO
No, but only because it would change our entire election and government, it truly feels like my vote almost means nothing
@9X4ZQS96mos6MO
Maybe beacuse it sometime important to use the electoral college be aboshiled and sometime it not that important to use the electoral college be abloshied
@9WPHFSD7mos7MO
No, but add that a certain number of popular votes equals 1 electoral vote. (Example: Every 100,000 popular votes = 1 electoral vote)
@9WFT7QC7mos7MO
I don't think an election with less than 60% support should determine a winner. 50.5 to 49.5 is nonsense. As least the electoral college generally does a good job at making one candidate look dominant.
@9VH3K587mos7MO
The electoral college should be abolished and replaced by an institution of highly intelligent scholars.
@9TMGW228mos8MO
I don't feel I would be a useful source sense I barely even know what the electoral college is, how it works, who's on/in it, and what it does, or how it affects me.
@9T9XFNX8mos8MO
Yes, democracy only has power in small populations. As County and City level government is the lowest rung in most cases, representation should be distributed based on the results per county. State-based averages already reduce too much voter agency and give too much power to large cities.
@9SMNZCT 9mos9MO
Yes, and all citizens of the United States, including territories and commonwealths, should get the right to vote for president
@9SLTTLVAmerican Solidarity9mos9MO
Yes, and voting for a president (or any representative for that matter) should be BY the people, FOR the people. EVERY VOICE should be heard.
@9LG7G921yr1Y
I believe that the government should bring more political parties into the current government control.
@9LC7FDX1yr1Y
I don't understand this. right now Im in government class, trying to figure out what this is. sorry about that.
@9L5Y4ZT1yr1Y
No and the US Citizen population should be the only numbers that create the Population and Deport all illegal immigrants
@9KCV83L1yr1Y
It should be adjusted in such a way that 3rd parties are not a near-impossibility to win a presidential election.
@9K25T6P1yr1Y
Use a popular vote count with approval voting and have national safeguards that allow all legal citizens to vote. No discrimination against targeted minorities.
@9J5SD221yr1Y
They should make the electoral college more evenly spread out so everyone can have a chance and not just win by a bigger states overall vote.
@9HLYZMJ1yr1Y
JERRY MY STUNT DOUBLE!1! where were you when i needed you most? Huh? HUH? I HATE YOU JEERRRYYY!!!1!11!1!1
@9GNT3XBProgressive2yrs2Y
It depends. If there aren't many benefits to the Electoral College, I would either say yes or add onto it where it can start to benefit who it is supposed to benefit again.
@9FXF4GZ2yrs2Y
Yes, we should switch over to a more representative democracy but people should be more informed about governmental decisions and policy.
@9FW3Z2Z2yrs2Y
no, but I think they need to, make it more strict and watch what people are doing with their ballets in each state and count them and make sure there are no extras coming in overnight.
@9FRTZNY 2yrs2Y
We should allow the number of Representatives to increase with the increase in population. This would balance the Electoral College and minimize the weight of the Senators.
@9FJQ4GV2yrs2Y
Yes, we should have a system that requires to win two out of three factors: the current Electoral College (which weights larger states over smaller ones), a majority of states equally weighted (if a candidate win the popular vote in a state they are awarded that state’s single “vote”), and the general population.
@9D8BM7HLibertarian2yrs2Y
no but the points structure should be reevaluated perhaps double the amount so smaller areas can be better represented
@9C7TZ3D2yrs2Y
This topic is more complicated than a yes or no answer.
@VulcanMan6 2yrs2Y
As far as I'm aware, there's no character limit, so feel free to elaborate...
@8F8P4QX5yrs5Y
I don't have enough knowledge to form a good opinion.
@9364BD83yrs3Y
@9DKQGML2yrs2Y
The electorates should be divided by county in the states.
@9BWL7TT2yrs2Y
No, but reform may be good idea
@9BWF9RK2yrs2Y
yes, it makes it harder for the average joe to get into the running for president, it closes many doors to regular people from the middle class and stops them from entering the running for president
@9BL8C2D2yrs2Y
No, but reformed based on landmass and population using a weighted scale to ensure accurate representation for each state according to both human and natural resources.
@9BDLNH4Republican2yrs2Y
Use the district Electoral vote plan - Each district gets their own electoral vote and the two Senate votes goes to the state winner.
@9B95PPYRepublican2yrs2Y
The entire system needs to be updated to ensure voter security. Technology is available to make the system secure.
@9B2D49V2yrs2Y
wot lol teehee !!!{!>!{!!
@96XB8VV3yrs3Y
I don’t have enough knowledge on the topic
@96ML9P73yrs3Y
I think we should have electoral college and make the vote more equal and have rank voting
@96FVRKP3yrs3Y
Yes, with today's day and age, the region or area you live in doesn't matter because you can get most of your political info from your phone. This allows for more homogeneous views across the country.
@96DQ87F3yrs3Y
Democrats need to win the election because they have the right to vote from the republicans
@96DL8PC3yrs3Y
They should go by who wins each district not whoever wins one state takes all the states votes
@96D22VS3yrs3Y
The current system should stay, but without electronic voting
@96C5MKMConstitution3yrs3Y
Yes, but reform so that the president is not popularly elected.
@966M8HL3yrs3Y
I want a direct democracy
@95ZRNRP3yrs3Y
no and yes i believe that if its there it should be full of unbiased people
@95Z97N93yrs3Y
We should have a direct democracy, it isn't like we don't have the money or technology to have everyone vote on all of our political needs. I don't want to vote for someone to be in charge of my vote.
Create a 4th branch and have a direct democracy. Switzerland as an example.
@95Y9K4YWomen’s Equality3yrs3Y
It depends on different factors
@95TBXDZ3yrs3Y
Rank choices and change the electro college so the small city and states aren't ignored. Alog with popular vote
@95NJBRC3yrs3Y
i've never heard of the electoral college
@95D9SC53yrs3Y
Yes, whoever gets the most votes total
@952LGM73yrs3Y
personally, id pefer if we get rid of democracy
@946CK6W3yrs3Y
No, but ranked choice and proportional vote distribution should replace current single choice, winner take all systems
@944N6QQ3yrs3Y
No, but do not divide towns and cities into districts so the democratic process is more democratic and impossible to be gerrymandered.
@93ZL7V63yrs3Y
Yes, and switch to approval voting. Also, amend decision rules to require more supermajorities, even consensus wherever possible. Also, decentralize the government so that federal elections aren’t necessary.
@93LG8TC3yrs3Y
The outcome of alternatives should be researched, the voters should be informed and it should be placed on the national ballot before anything in place is abolished.
@937KLSL3yrs3Y
Yes only if it is proven that it is ineffective
@932TBGC3yrs3Y
Would have to learn more
@92VBTML3yrs3Y
i just dont have an oppion
@92J25Q83yrs3Y
No, we should do what New Jersey does and go by majority by district, the majority of districts that vote 1 way will get the electoral vote
@92J25Q83yrs3Y
No, we should do what New Jersey does and go by the majority vote of Districts, so that the majority of Districts in the state that vote 1 way should get the electoral vote of said state
@92B4ZFB3yrs3Y
No but candidates that are running should not be able to count extra votes from people who are dead to rig the election
@928DTBF3yrs3Y
They probably shouldn’t but idk
@8ZYHLX93yrs3Y
No, but it should be changed or “fixed”
@8ZBW2VB3yrs3Y
have a given number of electoral points for each county.
@8Z9GYKMRepublican3yrs3Y
big cities have to much power
@8YQRN753yrs3Y
I am out of my depth on this topic, and do not feel comfortable answering this question in any way.
@8YLFCD53yrs3Y
We should change the electoral college so it is represented fairly by population but the population has to have an equal amount of people of different races and then we also have a rank voting system:
@8YDZ69R3yrs3Y
The voting system needs to be redone but it should not be popularity vote.
@8YDJ4MR3yrs3Y
I think we should change to a rank voting system and get rid of the gerrymandering along with get rid of the two party system.
@8YCK7683yrs3Y
Yes they should be allowed to vote, just as long as they are adult age ( 18 ).
@8Y7MR443yrs3Y
I'm on the fence a bit but leaning towards no
@8Y6C4DG3yrs3Y
It should but it shouldn’t I
@8Y57GYL3yrs3Y
No, but, Make faithless electors not allowed
@8Y56FMS3yrs3Y
Regardless our system of representation is illigitimate
@8XYNXN9Women’s Equality3yrs3Y
No, but citizens votes’ should matter more
@8XVSV8Q3yrs3Y
Yes, but allow a multi party system
@8XMSG3D3yrs3Y
I think we need to make sure that people with disability should be able to as well as people who are of different races
@8XH68LW3yrs3Y
No, but reform so that votes are distributed proportionally instead of the current winner take all system and remove 270 requirement
@8XC5K9F3yrs3Y
Don't remember what that is
@8XC27ZB3yrs3Y
don’t understand what you are asking
@8WYGRX6Constitution4yrs4Y
No, but reform so that each county has an electoral vote so that a better, more accurate opinion from the people is represented.
Loading the political themes of users that engaged with this discussion
Loading data...
Join in on more popular conversations.