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What are the benefits to the US Electoral College system? (self.asklemmy)

submitted 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) by Boldizzle to c/[email protected]

81 comments fedilink hide all child comments

So I'm a New Zealander and I have a pretty good idea on how the electoral college system works but it honestly sounds like something that can be easily corrupted and it feels like it renders the popular vote absolutely useless unless I'm totally missing something obvious?

So yeah if someone could explain to me what the benefits of such a system are, that would be awesome.

Edit - Thanks for the replies so far, already learning a lot!

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[–] Skoobie 7 points 1 year ago (1 children)

What doesn't? That rural states have more weight via the EC than they would in a popular vote? It's not a benefit to the country and citizens as a whole, but it is to those individual states.

[–] [email protected] -3 points 1 year ago (1 children)

A dictatorship is not a benefit to the country and citizens as a whole, but it is to those individual dictators, too...

[–] Skoobie 3 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

Right. Which is why I stated in my original comment that I am in favor of a popular majority vote...

Edit: typo

[–] [email protected] -1 points 1 year ago

Sorry for confusion, thought you were saying it had a benefit.

My country has Mixed Member Proportional, which means even minorities get some level of representation. I prefer it to winner-takes-all systems like what we had when I was a kid.