Why vote if Electoral College over rules popular vote?

[RawToast]

I was eating dinner with a few of my friends and there was a debate about this; I was just curious as to what R3v had to say about this.

[Thizzelle]

becauseracecar

[Holland]

becauseracecar

[dustyperez]

ya know i always wondered that myself. but the way i understand is we the people decide who we want and the electoral college is supposed to pick who we tell it to. but idk if i buy it

[smooth]

when you vote you are electing delegates who later cast the vote of who won the popular vote in their respective states

in the past people would cast their ballots and then the delegates would travel over land until they got to the capital where they would cast the final votes

[slammin.e28]

when you vote you are electing delegates who later cast the vote of who won the popular vote in their respective states

in the past people would cast their ballots and then the delegates would travel over land until they got to the capital where they would cast the final votes

So in today's world, it's a useless system that can, and has been, corrupted.

I wish once that NOBODY would vote.

I also wish once that NOBODY would pay taxes.

Just to see what happens.

[z31maniac]

I also wish once that NOBODY would pay taxes.

Just to see what happens.

Federal pound-me-in-the-ass prison.

[iamsam]

Federal pound-me-in-the-ass prison.

?

Everyone at once?

[gtdragon980]

Everyone would revolt against the gov't at that point..

[nrubenstein]

ya know i always wondered that myself. but the way i understand is we the people decide who we want and the electoral college is supposed to pick who we tell it to. but idk if i buy it

The original idea was that the people were too stupid too choose, so they could elect someone (hopefully intelligent) to choose for them.

Today, if you are not in a swing state, the reason to vote is to vote against the crazies in local politics.

The reality is that while i believe that it is technically possible for at least some members of the college to vote the other way, they are pretty heavily vetted by their respective parties. These are not people who are likely to be turncoats.

The downer is that it means that there isn't a lot of incentive to vote nationally if you are not in a swing state. I live in DC, so there is zero reason for me to bother voting. Once you pass the threshold, 50 votes or a million votes are irrelevant.

[gwb72tii]

the electoral college also prevents undue influence from heavily populated urban areas, ie NYC, LA, Chicago, SF, Seattle from controlling the entire election.

[kronus]

OP: You're aware that you vote for more than just the president in elections, right?

[BraveUlysses]

lol @ Seattle being a large influence

[herbivor]

As I understand the parties choose the electoral delegates. In 26 states, the delegates are required by law to vote with the majority of the voters. In the other states, it's pretty much they can vote how they want, but in most cases they will vote with the majority. There have been a few cases in history where the delegates will vote opposite of the majority and sometimes they will not cast a vote at all such as was done in the 2000 election with a delegate who didn't vote in protest.

The electoral college prevents us from being a real democracy, which many foreign countries that are trying to establish democracies find ironic that the US is trying to "spread" democracy.

Doing away with an electoral college would increase voter turn out but it would also increase the chance for 3rd party participation, which neither party wants. It would also allow states to band together more effectively to try and sway the influence (e.g. Blue New England vs. red southern states). The majority of the population is for the repeal of the electoral college system, but every time it is brought up for vote, it quickly gets voted down by politicians.
As I understand there is a loop hole that some states are trying to adopt to do away with the electoral college without amending the constitution. Can't remember the details.

[gwb72tii]

lol @ Seattle being a large influence

maybe not nationally, but it absolutely controls the state.