this post was submitted on 26 Sep 2023
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cross-posted from: https://kbin.social/m/[email protected]/t/488620

65% of U.S. adults say the way the president is elected should be changed so that the winner of the popular vote nationwide wins the presidency.

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[–] [email protected] 43 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (4 children)

65% of U.S. adults say the way the president is elected should be changed

Hmm this seems unfair. How about we redo the survey but this time break it down state-by-state where the majority option in each state will be considered the "winner" of the entire state (except for in Maine and Nebraska, in which the minority option is still given some points) and then these states will appoint a certain number of people (the number of people each state can appoint is equal to how many representatives they have plus two for their senators, except in DC where its capped at the state with the least amount of appointed people) where they will redo the survey again but now they have the opportunity to change the results if they feel like it (but don't worry that basically has never happened so it's all good) and after that each state will count the actual votes and then mail them to DC where Congress will count the votes from each state and the members of Congress get a chance to vote to ignore a state if enough of them feel like it (but again don't worry this has never happened! It's all good!) and after that hopefully one of the options has a majority because if not then the house gets to choose and if they can't decide then the senate gets to pick and if nobody can make up their minds then the Speaker gets to temporarily decide until everyone figures their stuff out.

I think that's how Americans should answer all their surveys since it's more fair.

[–] gibmiser 12 points 1 year ago

Had me in the first half, ngl

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[–] [email protected] 22 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I would modify the electoral college rather than get rid of it. Make it so that states are obligated to assign their electoral votes to candidates in proportion to the number of votes received.

Why? You're accepting the premise but then stopping short. Yes, a candidate's final outcome in the election should be proportional to the number of votes they received. You want to make it less unfair, but we can just as easily make it completely fair by making the outcome exactly proportional to the vote.

not completely disenfranchise rural voters

According to the US Census, roughly 20% of Americans live in rural areas. Under the Electoral College, most of these people get effectively no say in who is the president. Nobody cares what rural voters in Texas or California or Wyoming or Oklahoma think because they're not swing states. In a popular election, these 20% of Americans would get 20% of the say, and their individual vote would carry the same weight as everyone else. That's the only fair system. Making it less rigged is still rigged.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

Bro what? Am I reading this wrong? The Electoral College ensures rural votes have an outsized say compared to their population.

See almost every GOP state with maps redrawn in the last 4 years.

https://www.clarionledger.com/story/opinion/2020/12/02/electoral-college-needed-commentary-sid-salter/6428483002/

[–] [email protected] 6 points 1 year ago (1 children)

On the whole, yes, the Electoral College gives a larger weight to rural voters by stealing it from urban voters. I was merely highlighting that it also effectively disenfranchises a lot of rural voters by consolidating all electoral power in roughly a dozen swing states. I think the argument that we need to give special privilege to rural voters is bogus, but even accepting the premise, the EC still sucks at that. The specious arguments made in its favor don’t hold up.

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[–] [email protected] 7 points 1 year ago (1 children)

What does the Electoral College breakdown look like on that poll?

[–] PizzaMan 10 points 1 year ago (81 children)

Why does that matter? The people want a better electoral system, one that treats all votes equally.

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