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Electoral College

Discussion in 'Polls Forum' started by Salty, Sep 30, 2012.

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  1. Leave it the way it is

    11 vote(s)
    68.8%
  2. All States or Commonwealths should be required to have proportional votes

    1 vote(s)
    6.3%
  3. EC should be by Congressional District

    1 vote(s)
    6.3%
  4. EC should be by proportioned by popular vote (including minor parties)

    2 vote(s)
    12.5%
  5. Electoral College members should be required to vote for whom they were elected

    1 vote(s)
    6.3%
  6. EC members, by law, should include woman and minorities

    0 vote(s)
    0.0%
  7. The EC should meet in Washington DC and have discussion before casting votes

    0 vote(s)
    0.0%
  8. Other answer

    0 vote(s)
    0.0%
  1. Salty

    Salty 20,000 Posts Club
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    How should it be changed?


    Opps, I meant to have multiple voting - so just vote your main belief and list the others
     
    #1 Salty, Sep 30, 2012
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 30, 2012
  2. LadyEagle

    LadyEagle <b>Moderator</b> <img src =/israel.gif>

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    Here's my question: Can the EC delegates be bought off?
     
  3. Salty

    Salty 20,000 Posts Club
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    Not anymore than congressman
     
  4. billwald

    billwald New Member

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    It would not do any good to bribe a delegate. Mostly all they do is officially report the results of the election that has already been published.
     
  5. Salty

    Salty 20,000 Posts Club
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    some by their State or Commonwealth are bound by law to vote for the stated candidate - some do not require such and have actually voted for a different person. These individuals are know as FAITHLESS ELECTORS

    The only change I would like to see would be proportional representation of the State or Commonwealth within the College.
     
  6. Tom Butler

    Tom Butler New Member

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    We don't actually vote for president and vice president. We vote for electors committed to a particular candidate.

    Although they are morally bound to vote for the candidate to which they are committed, they are not legally obligated to do so. Nor is there any legal penalty for voting for someone other than the one you pledged to vote for. It rarely happens, but it has happened in the past.

    The basic premise is that states elect presidents, not people. Each state has a number of electors equal to the number of Congressmen and Senators.
     
  7. Tom Butler

    Tom Butler New Member

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    I mis-stated a couple of things in post #6. Rather than go into detail, Google "Faithless Electors" to get the correct information. The first one to pop up will be a Wikipedia summary. It will clear things up.
     
  8. Tom Butler

    Tom Butler New Member

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    Because electors from states pick presidents, national polls may not tell the complete story. Look for polls in individual states to get a better picture. The news media are focusing on "battleground states," where those states are up for grabs. Whoever wins those states will likely win the election.

    So, when you see the latest poll giving Romney 48% and Mr. Obama 42%, remember that it's looking at the popular vote, not the electoral vote, and could be deceiving.

    The most reliable polls will be those which break down the states and the electoral vote. Here's one example:
    http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/archive/2012_electoral_college_scoreboard

    Not every poll yields the same results, but Rasmussen is pretty good.
     
  9. dcorbett

    dcorbett Active Member
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    Yes, because we learned in school years ago that a candidate
    can win the popular vote and still lose the election.

    FYI....in my college classes, I was told not to use Wikipedia...
    not a reliable source. So when someone quotes Wikipedia, I
    take it with a major grain of salt.

    Debbie Mc
     
  10. Salty

    Salty 20,000 Posts Club
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    Do you believe everything you learned in college? Wikepedia CAN be good - often it will link the offical reference
     
  11. saturneptune

    saturneptune New Member

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    Several points about the electoral college. In the event of a tie of 269-269, the election only goes to the House after the college meets in each state capitol. One faithless elector could elect a President of the United States in the event of a tie.

    Another point, there is nothing to prevent a state in the future of awarding their entire electoral votes based on something besides the winner of the popular vote within that state being given the total electoral vote. Already in Nebraska and Maine, the electoral votes are award by popluar votes within the Congressional district. Only the two votes represented by the two Senate votes are given for the overall popular vote. In 2008, Obama won one electoral vote from Nebraska.

    There was a proposal in California that did not pass to award their 55 electoral votes to the winner of the national popular vote. There is nothing to prevent that in the future. Each of the fifty states could come up with their own standard if they so chose.

    If one takes that in addition to the right of electoral college members to change their vote, it could be a real mess. Only a few states have faithless elector laws.

    If it ever did go to the House, it is very possible that we could end up with a President and VP from two different parties. The most powerful man in the House would be represenatives from North Dakota, Wyoming, and similar states, since each state just gets one vote.
     
  12. Squire Robertsson

    Squire Robertsson Administrator
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    I voted for by congressional district. However, the EC votes for each state includes two votes for the senators. So, those would go as the state as a whole voted.
     
  13. Salty

    Salty 20,000 Posts Club
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    I do agree
     
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