Thread: 2020 US Presidential Race

Originally Posted by raycarey

he's extremely knowledgeable of foreign affairs and is able to express genuine empathy......but most importantly....people like him.

That is very true. People in the rust belt swing states especially like him. I have said all along that he will be a powerhouse in those places and he is proving it so far.

Originally Posted by raycarey

the biden campaign is doing exactly what it should be doing.....ensuring that this is a referendum election and not a choice election.

Spot on.

Originally Posted by Cujo

Why? If the electors can vote anyway they choose, disregarding the popular vote, what use is the popular vote?

They can't though and the SCOTUS just ruled confirming that. The problem is Cujo that you do not understand how the electoral college works and that is why Ray and myself have been pointing out your ignorance. It is not our job to educate you on the intricacies of the US political system. If you want to post in these threads with any credibility you need to educate yourself.

Originally Posted by Cujo

I wondered why everyone was saying what an idiot you are

Exactly who is calling me an idiot? Care to name some names? My guess it would be some angry retard club members who themselves are in no place to call anyone stupid or an idiot.

Originally Posted by panama hat

I guess what Cujo is asking is why even have an election by the population because the electoral college can, and does, do what it wants - even if it is against the express wishes of the electorate.

But it doesn't do what it wants. It is just set up in a way that is becoming an increasing problem in US elections. To explain...

How Does the Electoral College Process Work?

After you cast your ballot for president, your vote goes to a statewide tally. In 48 states and Washington, D.C., the winner gets all the electoral votes for that state. Maine and Nebraska assign their electors using a proportional system.

A candidate needs the vote of at least 270 electors—more than half of all electors—to win the presidential election.

In most cases, a projected winner is announced on election night in November after you vote. But the actual Electoral College vote takes place in mid-December when the electors meet in their states.

While the Constitution doesn’t require electors to follow their state's popular vote, many states' laws do. Though it's rare, electors have challenged those laws and voted for someone else. But in July 2020 the Supreme Court ruled that those state laws are constitutional. Electors must follow their state's popular vote, if the state has passed such a law.

Special Situations

Winning the Popular Vote but Losing the Election

It is possible to win the Electoral College but lose the popular vote. This happened in 2016, in 2000, and three times in the 1800s.

What Happens if No Candidate Wins the Majority of Electoral Votes?

If no candidate receives the majority of electoral votes, the vote goes to the House of Representatives. House members choose the new president from among the top three candidates. The Senate elects the vice president from the remaining top two candidates.

This has only happened once. In 1824, the House of Representatives elected John Quincy Adams as president.

How to Change the Electoral College

The Electoral College process is in the U.S. Constitution. It would take a constitutional amendment to change the process. For more information, contact your U.S. senator or your U.S. representative

So if a candidate wins the popular vote in that state aside from the two exceptions mentioned above the candidate wins the entire basket of points in that state and when they have racked up 270 points they win the election. Here are the points per state...

Originally Posted by panama hat

the simple answer is that the electoral college is an antiquated and now useless concept

Yes it sucks and since it got GWB and the orange moron elected the GOP will fight like hell to keep it. Can you just imagine how different the world would have been if Al Gore and Hillary were the presidents instead? A lot better off imho.

"After you cast your ballot for president, your vote goes to a statewide tally. In 48 states and Washington, D.C., the winner gets all the electoral votes for that state."

Cujo, this is they key bit.

So, even if the state vote is 49.9 to 50.1 - ALL the electoral votes for that state go to the winning candiate (except for two states). Given that the states populations are not equal, and that the distribution of electoral votes by state is very political, you can end up with the f*cked up result they had last time.

Originally Posted by nidhogg

So, even if the state vote is 49.9 to 50.1 - ALL the electoral votes for that state go to the winning candiate (except for two states). Given that the states populations are not equal, and that the distribution of electoral votes by state is very political, you can end up with the f*cked up result they had last time.

Bingo! We have a winner! If it was proportional like it is in Maine and Nebraska then it would not even be an issue but sadly it is not.

I don't know if anyone has pointed this out yet, but the Democrat Candidate has won the popular vote in 6 of the past 7 elections, but the electoral votes gave us a Republican President in 3 of those 7 elections. If Trump wins again, he will almost certainly win with a popular vote defeat and an electoral vote victory.

This is why the Electoral College is being increasingly looked upon as a dysfunctional relic.

Originally Posted by Agent_Smith

Supreme Court just settled it a couple of weeks ago. "Faithless voters" can be challenged by their respective states.

Supreme Court Rules States May Curb '''Faithless Electors''' in Electoral College - The New York Times

Thank you.

Originally Posted by nidhogg

"After you cast your ballot for president, your vote goes to a statewide tally. In 48 states and Washington, D.C., the winner gets all the electoral votes for that state."

Cujo, this is they key bit.

So, even if the state vote is 49.9 to 50.1 - ALL the electoral votes for that state go to the winning candiate (except for two states). Given that the states populations are not equal, and that the distribution of electoral votes by state is very political, you can end up with the f*cked up result they had last time.

Thanks.

(See how it's done reacharound and Bphat?)

Originally Posted by panama hat

I guess what Cujo is asking is why even have an election by the population because the electoral college can, and does, do what it wants - even if it is against the express wishes of the electorate.

.

Precisely. Thanks.

Originally Posted by Agent_Smith

Supreme Court just settled it a couple of weeks ago. "Faithless voters" can be challenged by their respective states.

In 32 states if I read correctly, so...

Originally Posted by pickel

Just wait until Sleepy Joe actually starts campaigning and makes it a close race again.

I haven't noticed him lately

How is he ?

Originally Posted by AntRobertson

Yeah because "Sleepy Joe" is just utterly monstrous compared to an mentally, ethically and emotionally ill-equipped man-child who uses a secret police force to round up and detain citizens and refuses to go on record stating he'd accept election defeat.

I guess that you haven't got a nagging feeling inside, that he could blow it for himself.

Shit happens in elections

Originally Posted by bsnub

He is not going too. He will not hold any rallies at all. They plan on him to continue to lie low and stay out of the limelight for two reasons. It does not give the orange moron any ammunition to attack him with and two it forces the orange moron front and center in the news cycle all the time giving him ample time to continue to make himself look worse and worse. It really is a brilliant strategy.

For that strategy, the Corona is heaven sent

Originally Posted by bsnub

It does not give the orange moron any ammunition to attack him with

My point exactly. if he actually starts campaigning he will do just that.

Originally Posted by panama hat

So, you think he's riding the coat tails of a series of ads,

Yes I do. And its true.

Originally Posted by raycarey

such a pathetic trump lemming

Not the first time you've been wrong.

Of course Biden is better than Trump. But it's pretty sad those are your choices.

And I still think the race will get closer if Biden actually starts campaigning.

Originally Posted by pickel

And I still think the race will get closer if Biden actually starts campaigning.

Yup. I thnk they are going with the old adage that it is better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to speak and remove all doubt.

The longer he remains quite (ish) and lets trump talk himself into the toilet, the better.

Originally Posted by pickel

And I still think the race will get closer if Biden actually starts campaigning.

As I said before he will not be campaigning.

Coronavirus: Joe Biden will not hold campaign rallies

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-53243936

Originally Posted by pickel

Yes I do. And its true.

nonsense.

any idea what percentage of registered or likely voters have even seen a lincoln project ad?

of course you don't....so how can you claim that he's riding the coattails of the ads? which, by the way, isn't even a thing.

yawn.

Originally Posted by Buckaroo Banzai

It does reflect the popular vote of that state but not the popular vote of the whole country.
It is proportional representation.
What we need to understand is that when the constitution was created the country had just fought a war to alleviate "taxation without representation" without a proportional system the big population states, with their big popular vote would have dominated the political process, Without an electoral college to ensure proportional representation where all states would have a voice, no new territory would want to join a union where it would not have a voice, and the United States would never had existed.

Nice job of explaining why the electoral college makes sense.

Originally Posted by raycarey

any idea what percentage of registered or likely voters have even seen a lincoln project ad?

Those ads certainly don’t show on television in the US South.


We get hit with an ad with and old woman calling the police on an intruder and gets no answer because...THIS IS JOE BIDEN’S AMERICA!

Then all the Kelly Loffler ads calling her Republican opponent, Doug Collins, a closet LIBERAL!

The Lincoln Project doesn't just do ads, they are quite often guest commentators on major news networks.

If the election were held today, the latest polls suggest this outcome in the electoral college:

308
Joe Biden
DEMOCRAT

131
Donald Trump
REPUBLICAN



Look at those leaning states.

Trump vs Biden: US presidential election 2020 poll tracker

^
there is a case to be made for cautious optimism.

...because of the US electoral college system, the outcome will probably come down to a few key states.

Says a lot doesn't it.

Originally Posted by AntRobertson

Says a lot doesn't it.

It is very sad and the only solution is for progressives to move to those areas. It is happening in many of them. Arizona, Texass, Floriduh etc are all flipping to the Democratic Party.

Originally Posted by raycarey

^
there is a case to be made for cautious optimism.

Also furiously knocking on wood when thinking positive about this election.