Well, if we had popular vote, New York City, Los Angeles, and Chicago would pick every President.
We are a Republic, not a Democracy. In a democracy, the majority rules. The danger of a democracy is that the majority can vote to steal the wealth of the minority. Think of it like this, Me, You, and John Doe all get one vote. I then conspire with John Doe to vote together to tax you at 100%.
As a Republic, each state has to have representation in the selection process of the President. With only a popular vote, the states themselves don't have representation and smaller states would lose power to larger population states. In order to give the states representation, the states decide how their electors will vote. Most states choose to have their electors vote winner-take-all so that whoever wins the most votes gets the entire slate of electors given to that state.
Each state gets one elector for every Senator and every Congressman that they have. So, a small state like Wyoming and Alaska get 3, and large states like California get 55. Those states that have the highest populations do get more representation so there is still some majority rule, albeit at the state level instead of at the individual level.
The reason you will sometimes see a candidate lose despite winning the popular vote is due to states choosing the winner-take-all method of determining how their electors will vote. If each state decided to apportion their electors, then this won't likely happen. See, if you win only 49% of California, you get exactly 0 electors and the 51% winner gets 55. In Texas, the 51% winner would get 38 electors and the other would get 0. If that candidate who got only 49% then went on to win several small states, they might have more popular votes nationwide than the other candidate did. What you have to keep in mind is that in 48 out of 50 states, the majority vote winner does win that state.
Re: Let's play a game
Member #: 40846
Registered: 9/19/2005
Posted:
1493
Name:
Duane Vick
Name:
Duane Vick
Company:
Self-Employed
Occupation:
Installer
Location:
Phoenix AZ
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