The Electoral College
Posted By Jacque on October 28, 2008
I have read so many political posts and heard so many reasons and opinions, some well thought out and even Bucking The System – and some just following the same ‘ol, same ‘ol thinking. When it all comes down to it, I imagine the outcome has already been decided, and the little people of the US are not even aware of much of what has been decided behind closed doors.
It was interesting to see what votes will and which won’t likely be represented by the Electoral College.
One thing we forget about in elections is The Electoral College!
The Electoral College
One thing we have been discussing here in the Dixon home is the Electoral College. Now, I remember hearing about the E- L -E -C-T-O-R-A-L College on Saturday morning cartoons [back when the cartoons were real cartoons]. I remember well the Schoolhouse rock videos, and this one still sticks in my mind.
Dictionaries describe the Electoral College as:
1. n. A body of electors chosen to elect the President and Vice President of the United States.
2. noun the body of electors who formally elect the United States president and vice president.
3. The presidential electors who meet after the citizens vote for president and cast ballots for the president and vice president. Each state is granted the same number of electors as it has senators (see United States Senate) and representatives combined. These electors, rather than the public, actually elect the president and the vice president. The Founding Fathers assumed that electors would exercise discretion and not necessarily be bound by the popular vote, but the rise of political parties undermined this assumption. Electors are now pledged in advance to vote for the candidate of their party, and nearly always do so. Thus, the vote of the Electoral College is largely a formality.
4. Function: noun
often cap E&C : a body of electors; specifically : the body of electors chosen from each state to elect the president and vice president of the U.S.5. –noun (often initial capital letters
)
a body of electors chosen by the voters in each state to elect the President and Vice President of the U.S.Origin: 1790–1800, Americanism
NOTE: Under Article II, Section 1 of the U.S. Constitution, each state chooses electors in the same number that the state has senators and representatives. The electors have the discretion to choose the candidate they vote for, but in practice the electors vote for the candidate that wins the most votes in their respective states. In all the states except Maine, the candidate that wins a plurality of the popular votes wins all of the state’s electoral votes.
Note: There have been several attempts to abolish the Electoral College. In the 2000 presidential election, the candidate with the plurality of popular votes lost the electoral vote, a situation that also occurred in the 1876 and 1888 elections.
Have you heard of the Electoral College? Do you know what it is?
Some Q’s about the electoral College:
There is an interesting question asked here: Why do we have the electoral College? Why do we not just use the popular vote? If we are a country that is
“By the people and for the people”
then, why does not each vote count equally, each person’s vote counted as one person’s vote?
Does my vote count? Since I am voting for a Third Party Candidate, will my vote go to anyone? The candidate who gets the majority of the popular votes gets the Electoral College votes. In a Blue state, everyone who votes for McCain in this election DOES NOT COUNT. I don’t mean that your vote is beaten by another voter. I mean that if McCain gets 40% of the vote and Obama gets 42% of the vote, the Electoral Vote will go to Obama.
There are also third party factors. This video explains it:
I can see where, individually, in each state, if we wanted to elect a President for that state, then the Electoral votes would reflect the true winner by percentage, but not in a NATIONAL VOTE. If the amount of votes in a blue state is greater than red in one state, it may be offset or even beaten by another state, according to the popular vote.
Perhaps it was necessary in times past to persuade the candidates to focus on “unimportant” states by using the Electoral College votes, but in today’s world, where many times, money is not object, we all know they will dog votes and give their opinions wherever they can. They are politicians. They want all they can get.
2008 Election Electoral Votes
There is a Political Map of the present poll results for the 2008 Presidential Election. They include the likely electoral votes that each candidate has garnered. If you click on the individual states, you can find our how many electoral votes your state has.
You can also count how many candidates Obama and McCain have and see if John McCain could win, based on these results, even if he got ALL of the undecided votes.
Other Election Info and Links
If you believe that an election is unconstitutional, what do you do? You can do what they did in WA in 2004 in a Contested Election.
In Defense of the Electoral College This is a very good explanation and very interesting. HT:Dana
More videos on the Electoral College
Whatever you do this election, We MUST pray about this election. Have you felt An Urgency to Pray?
blessings,
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14 Responses to “The Electoral College”
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Thanks, Jacque. I can’t say that I fully understood the Electoral College in the past. But now I get it. Can’t say that I agree with it, but at least I understand it.
Yes, definitely a HUGE need to pray. Precarious times in which we live.
love,
dianne
Diannes last blog post..Video Meme
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Thank you Jacque, for your detailed research. I need to view those videos on the laptop. My speakers have a mind of their own.
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The point of the electoral college was to quell some of the passions of the majority. We are not a pure democracy and were not conceived as such, but as a representative republic.
There are multiple checks on power in the US, from the three house system to the electoral college which puts a check on the will of the majority.
Federalist Paper number 10 has an excellent summary of the reasoning behind the electoral college, but here is a snip:
By what means is this object attainable? Evidently by one of two only. Either the existence of the same passion or interest in a majority at the same time must be prevented, or the majority, having such coexistent passion or interest, must be rendered, by their number and local situation, unable to concert and carry into effect schemes of oppression. If the impulse and the opportunity be suffered to coincide, we well know that neither moral nor religious motives can be relied on as an adequate control. They are not found to be such on the injustice and violence of individuals, and lose their efficacy in proportion to the number combined together, that is, in proportion as their efficacy becomes needful.
http://www.constitution.org/fed/federa10.htm
And here is a good summary of the issue, I think:
http://www.cato.org/pub_display.php?pub_id=4451
Danas last blog post..Politician falsely accused of homeschooling
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Besides, a direct popular vote would likely mean that what is going on in CA would be law for the entire nation every election rather than 20 years later.
Danas last blog post..Politician falsely accused of homeschooling
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Dianne-
I am not exactly sure I fully understand all the implications. we are still talking about it here.
Lisa… man, I hope you get those working soon!!
Dana~
I am so glad you joined this convo. I was hoping you would have something to add.
“We are not a pure democracy and were not conceived as such, but as a representative republic.”
This is what we do not fully grasp, I think. I know there are so many things about gov’t such as this that I am learning to apply to my thinking.
Thank you for the links. I am sure they will be a great help in this study.
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Very good article! I will have my 10th grader who is studying the constitution this year read it over too!
I do respect your strong pro-life stance and if the election weren’t so tight, I might join you!
However, I am terrified of Obama getting in and what that would mean for millions of unborn children. I also respect Governor Palin, so with every vote counting, I am casting my vote for the Republican ticket.
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I don’t completely completely understand your system. It was only about a year ago that I first heard of the Electoral College. Honestly, I don’t get it.
Kathleens last blog post..easy style
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Elena~
I understand your fears, because I have been REALLY researching Obama lately. Over the past two weeks, we have found out so much about things that are hidden in gov’t that, honestly, if I were you, I would be afraid if the Republicans won too. Not for little tiny things, but for things that you wouldn’t let your child watch in a horror movie.
Millions of unborn babies were murdered the entire time that George Bush has been in office, even when the Rep. had ALL the power, and they passed no laws or changed the gov’t in any way that stopped that. Having a Republican Pres. who does not believe in the sanctity of life (and McCain does NOT believe in the sanctity of life if he is for abortion in the slightest) is a man in the Presidency who is not ProLife. Period.
I strongly encourage you to search the Republican Party and any atrocities you can dig up. I think you will be mortified. I think you will never vote Republican again.
As for Gov. Palin, I have little respect for her . I am not a feminist, though, so that is to be expected from me. I think she is probably a nice lady, may love the LORD, and is likely a good mom, but I do not want her to be a role model to the already confused young ladies out there who have to decide if the role of wife and mother is enough when the world says it is not. It is, and I don’t think that Mrs. Palin is a good representative of a woman who thinks that being a wife and mother and staying home is a fulfilling and Godly choice.
As I said in the beginning, I completely understand your fears about Obama. I am a God-fearing Believer, and I fear little but God. Obama is scary. The Republicans are scarier to me. God is in control, and I have no need of fear. When the final days have come, and I stand before the LORD, I will not be responsible to any man though, only to God. I believe that I am to fear the LORD and live as holy as I can in fear of God in all things, including voting. Since I cannot vote for God, who should be ruler of our country, but I must vote for a man instead, I must cast a vote for a man I know stands FOR the unborn. John McCain does not. We know Obama does not.
If all God-fearing Believers would STAND together in faith, instead of fear of Obama, we could unite our votes to vote in the only ProLife candidate. I will NOT vote out of fear, but in faith.
Please know that I DO understand your fears, and I understand your vote. I am not judging you, but rather, admonishing you and all who read this to consider voting in faith and giving God a vote that He will be honored in.
I am still mad that the vote in America is now a vote AGAINST a candidate, rather than FOR one. That is NOT FREEDOM!!!!
blessings Elena and thank you for your comment!
~J
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Kathleen~
I know. I understand SOME of the motivations behind it. I am still wrapping my brain around what Dana had to say about California.
I really don’t know if that is best though. I also don’t like it that, it seems that the two main parties use this for their own benefit, and it seems to be a part of why we can’t change the gov’t with Third Parties too.
That, and the fact that they have to have a certain percentage of votes or a whole lot of money to get into a televised debate with the Dems and Reps.
I think they are afraid of what would happen if the People had another choice.
Thank you for your comment. I am assuming they have nothing like this in CAN, and it is a straight popular vote then?
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Jacque-
As always, thank you for this post. I find myself in agreement with you so often, and it is so wonderful to find someone who confirms (and so eloquently I might add), what I believe. I sent Miss Jocelyn an e-mail which better states my thoughts to date, I would really love if you would read it too. Thank you again!
Amy
Amys last blog post..Surprise drive
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Thanks for your reply Jacque. Yea, the Republicans aren’t perfect. My family was completely Democrat while I was growing up in the blue collar, union town of Flint, MI. Many of their old fashioned “ideals” still ring with me. But the party left me when they became so purely pro-abortion. Realistically, the Republican party was the fall back position.
President Bush has not lived up to expectations. However, under his administration we did get the Partial Birth Abortion Ban, and we have two more solid constitutional judges on the Supreme Court. Those were biggies.
What really concerns me, and what I have been blogging about for days, is that Senator Obama plans to sign Freedom of Choice act as soon as he becomes president. With a Democratic majority in the house and senate he will not have any problem doing that – and that could pretty much drive the pro-live movement back 30 years. All gains will be lost. Additionally with three or more judges teetering on the edge of retirement, Obama appointments to the court could have consequences that will affect my children and grandchildren. I shudder to think of some of the bone headed decisions those types of judges might make.
So although my state of Ohio seems to be thoroughly tainted with voter registration fraud, I feel conscience bound to put my vote where it might actually make a difference. Sadly, that is not a third party candidate in my opinion.
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Yes, Elena, the question really is this: Will votes make a difference with all the fraud? I believe we as voters underestimate the power we hold in our hands, but I wonder what the Powers That Be already have in the works too.
Indiana is a state that the ACORN scandal has affected, with 5000 new voter registrations submitted by Obama supporters (and a Co. that Obama has publicly supported). The “new voters” were dead people, homeless, business addresses, and even vacant buildings!
I found a Scripture passage to back up my voting theology today though. When Moses was judging the Israelites out in the desert, his father in law gave him counsel:
which he then goes on to give him the type of man to put into the “Office” of leadership. I would say that this passage is one all Believers should adhere to when making a selection for Leaders, whether as spouses, church leaders or gov’t leaders.
[which is already a post in the works! :LOL:] It is found in Exodus 18. I believe when we humble ourselves and select God-honoring men, God will honor His people.
I appreciate your commentary! TYVM.
blessings,
J
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“Yea, the Republicans aren’t perfect.”
I have to say that I am not talking about perfection. I am talking about things that former Presidents have been assassinated for. Things that are known by the media and all Republican Presidents, but not too many voters that would have you questioning everything about our government for the past 100+ years.
Not legislation. Not appointing judges. As condemning as abortion.
Enough said.
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Very powerful post. I’ll be using it for school this morning. Thanks a bunch!
Smiles
Lea
Lea of Farmhouse Blessingss last blog post..Even more giveaways!
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