Why The Electoral College?

[Viktor]

I read about this years ago in a class on Constitutional Law. In the late 18th century, the Founders were faced with a population of voters, most of whom had very little education.There were no public schools. Many could not read at all. The men at the Constitutional Convention were worried that one or more unscrupulous demagogues could hoodwink the voters into putting them in office with deceptive speeches. Their solution was to set up an electoral college which would include only educated men who could check on the backgrounds of candidates for office to see if they were qualified and honest.

Today, with widespread public education a reality, this would not be necessary.

 

[Maxdeath]

Now it is more about allowing most of the US to have a vote instead of disenfranchising them. only a few cities have more then the rest of the states.

 

[Shelzin]

I read about this years ago in a class on Constitutional Law. In the late 18th century, the Founders were faced with a population of voters, most of whom had very little education.There were no public schools. Many could not read at all. The men at the Constitutional Convention were worried that one or more unscrupulous demagogues could hoodwink the voters into putting them in office with deceptive speeches. Their solution was to set up an electoral college which would include only educated men who could check on the backgrounds of candidates for office to see if they were qualified and honest.

Today, with widespread public education a reality, this would not be necessary.

You didn't learn the real reason why then.

Edit: And I'm unsure how you didn't notice this... But No child left behind and All students succeed or whatever it was has done NOTHING to make the education better... It's only gotten worse.

 

[Thunk]

Today, with widespread public education a reality, this would not be necessary.

Yeah...all I see are geniuses out there

 

[Ben Thomson]

I read about this years ago in a class on Constitutional Law. In the late 18th century, the Founders were faced with a population of voters, most of whom had very little education.There were no public schools. Many could not read at all. The men at the Constitutional Convention were worried that one or more unscrupulous demagogues could hoodwink the voters into putting them in office with deceptive speeches. Their solution was to set up an electoral college which would include only educated men who could check on the backgrounds of candidates for office to see if they were qualified and honest.

Today, with widespread public education a reality, this would not be necessary.

Republicans will fight like hell to keep it. They don't need to win the popular vote, just a handful of Klan states. The one man/one vote idea scares the hell out of them.

 

[Viktor]

I read about this years ago in a class on Constitutional Law. In the late 18th century, the Founders were faced with a population of voters, most of whom had very little education.There were no public schools. Many could not read at all. The men at the Constitutional Convention were worried that one or more unscrupulous demagogues could hoodwink the voters into putting them in office with deceptive speeches. Their solution was to set up an electoral college which would include only educated men who could check on the backgrounds of candidates for office to see if they were qualified and honest.

Today, with widespread public education a reality, this would not be necessary.

You didn't learn the real reason why then.

Edit: And I'm unsure how you didn't notice this... But No child left behind and All students succeed or whatever it was has done NOTHING to make the education better... It's only gotten worse.

Today, everyone can go to public school. Back then, there were none.

 

[Viktor]

I read about this years ago in a class on Constitutional Law. In the late 18th century, the Founders were faced with a population of voters, most of whom had very little education.There were no public schools. Many could not read at all. The men at the Constitutional Convention were worried that one or more unscrupulous demagogues could hoodwink the voters into putting them in office with deceptive speeches. Their solution was to set up an electoral college which would include only educated men who could check on the backgrounds of candidates for office to see if they were qualified and honest.

Today, with widespread public education a reality, this would not be necessary.

Republicans will fight like hell to keep it. They don't need to win the popular vote, just a handful of Klan states. The one man/one vote idea scares the hell out of them.

WRONG. As of 9/2020, GOP voter numbers are equal to Democrat voters numbers at 30% each.

 

[Maxdeath]

I read about this years ago in a class on Constitutional Law. In the late 18th century, the Founders were faced with a population of voters, most of whom had very little education.There were no public schools. Many could not read at all. The men at the Constitutional Convention were worried that one or more unscrupulous demagogues could hoodwink the voters into putting them in office with deceptive speeches. Their solution was to set up an electoral college which would include only educated men who could check on the backgrounds of candidates for office to see if they were qualified and honest.

Today, with widespread public education a reality, this would not be necessary.

You didn't learn the real reason why then.

Edit: And I'm unsure how you didn't notice this... But No child left behind and All students succeed or whatever it was has done NOTHING to make the education better... It's only gotten worse.

Today, everyone can go to public school. Back then, there were none.

Unfortunately everyone can go to school the problem is it appears that few actually benefit from such a chance.

 

[Ben Thomson]

I read about this years ago in a class on Constitutional Law. In the late 18th century, the Founders were faced with a population of voters, most of whom had very little education.There were no public schools. Many could not read at all. The men at the Constitutional Convention were worried that one or more unscrupulous demagogues could hoodwink the voters into putting them in office with deceptive speeches. Their solution was to set up an electoral college which would include only educated men who could check on the backgrounds of candidates for office to see if they were qualified and honest.

Today, with widespread public education a reality, this would not be necessary.

Republicans will fight like hell to keep it. They don't need to win the popular vote, just a handful of Klan states. The one man/one vote idea scares the hell out of them.

WRONG. As of 9/2020, GOP voter numbers are equal to Democrat voters numbers at 30% each.

So the republicans would be fine with doing away with the Electoral College?

 

[Viktor]

Today, with widespread public education a reality, this would not be necessary.

Yeah...all I see are geniuses out there

No school can make a fool smart.

 

[Viktor]

I read about this years ago in a class on Constitutional Law. In the late 18th century, the Founders were faced with a population of voters, most of whom had very little education.There were no public schools. Many could not read at all. The men at the Constitutional Convention were worried that one or more unscrupulous demagogues could hoodwink the voters into putting them in office with deceptive speeches. Their solution was to set up an electoral college which would include only educated men who could check on the backgrounds of candidates for office to see if they were qualified and honest.

Today, with widespread public education a reality, this would not be necessary.

Republicans will fight like hell to keep it. They don't need to win the popular vote, just a handful of Klan states. The one man/one vote idea scares the hell out of them.

WRONG. As of 9/2020, GOP voter numbers are equal to Democrat voters numbers at 30% each.

So the republicans would be fine with doing away with the Electoral College?

I don't know. I'm an Independent. I don't vote by party.

 

[blackhawk]

I will support ending the Electoral College and do a majority vote to decide the Presidency if we do it based on which candidate wins the most states. With a few exceptions such a format would favor the Republicans just as going to a popular vote format with the rock solid blue states of New York and California would favor the Democrats. Either one of these would lead to one party rule which would be a disaster for the nation which is why the Electoral College remains the best option.

 

[Darkwind]

I read about this years ago in a class on Constitutional Law. In the late 18th century, the Founders were faced with a population of voters, most of whom had very little education.There were no public schools. Many could not read at all. The men at the Constitutional Convention were worried that one or more unscrupulous demagogues could hoodwink the voters into putting them in office with deceptive speeches. Their solution was to set up an electoral college which would include only educated men who could check on the backgrounds of candidates for office to see if they were qualified and honest.

Today, with widespread public education a reality, this would not be necessary.

None of that is true, but you go on with your bad self.

The electoral college was put into place to keep the big, more populace states from running roughshod over their rights.

 

[Shelzin]

So the republicans would be fine with doing away with the Electoral College?

Nobody should be fine with doing away with the EC.

 

[airplanemechanic]

I read about this years ago in a class on Constitutional Law. In the late 18th century, the Founders were faced with a population of voters, most of whom had very little education.There were no public schools. Many could not read at all. The men at the Constitutional Convention were worried that one or more unscrupulous demagogues could hoodwink the voters into putting them in office with deceptive speeches. Their solution was to set up an electoral college which would include only educated men who could check on the backgrounds of candidates for office to see if they were qualified and honest.

Today, with widespread public education a reality, this would not be necessary.

Republicans will fight like hell to keep it. They don't need to win the popular vote, just a handful of Klan states. The one man/one vote idea scares the hell out of them.

Yea the idea that a single city could have more voting power than 3 entire states doesn't sit well with most normal people.

 

[Montrovant]

I read about this years ago in a class on Constitutional Law. In the late 18th century, the Founders were faced with a population of voters, most of whom had very little education.There were no public schools. Many could not read at all. The men at the Constitutional Convention were worried that one or more unscrupulous demagogues could hoodwink the voters into putting them in office with deceptive speeches. Their solution was to set up an electoral college which would include only educated men who could check on the backgrounds of candidates for office to see if they were qualified and honest.

Today, with widespread public education a reality, this would not be necessary.

None of that is true, but you go on with your bad self.

The electoral college was put into place to keep the big, more populace states from running roughshod over their rights.

What do you base that on? I know it's a popular idea, but did any of the founders write that they were worried about more populous states having power over smaller states and that's why the EC was created? I haven't found much writing directly about the system from those who were involved in creating it.

I've read that there were some who wanted Congress to elect the president, some who wanted a popular vote, some who wanted state legislatures to elect the president. There were problems with each: political corruption seemed like an issue with the first, difficulty with the populace becoming knowledgeable about candidates was an issue with the second (regardless of education level, information just wasn't as easily disseminated), a lessening of federal authority was an issue with the third. The EC was supposedly a compromise, rather than an idea created because it was seen as exceptional.

Of course, there were no political parties at the time. The men who agreed upon the EC may not have had any notion of what it would end up becoming. Would they still have agreed with it if they knew how it would involve political parties, winner-takes-all distribution of EC votes, and how easily information about candidates is now spread? That is impossible to know.

 

[Darkwind]

I read about this years ago in a class on Constitutional Law. In the late 18th century, the Founders were faced with a population of voters, most of whom had very little education.There were no public schools. Many could not read at all. The men at the Constitutional Convention were worried that one or more unscrupulous demagogues could hoodwink the voters into putting them in office with deceptive speeches. Their solution was to set up an electoral college which would include only educated men who could check on the backgrounds of candidates for office to see if they were qualified and honest.

Today, with widespread public education a reality, this would not be necessary.

None of that is true, but you go on with your bad self.

The electoral college was put into place to keep the big, more populace states from running roughshod over their rights.

What do you base that on? I know it's a popular idea, but did any of the founders write that they were worried about more populous states having power over smaller states and that's why the EC was created? I haven't found much writing directly about the system from those who were involved in creating it.

I've read that there were some who wanted Congress to elect the president, some who wanted a popular vote, some who wanted state legislatures to elect the president. There were problems with each: political corruption seemed like an issue with the first, difficulty with the populace becoming knowledgeable about candidates was an issue with the second (regardless of education level, information just wasn't as easily disseminated), a lessening of federal authority was an issue with the third. The EC was supposedly a compromise, rather than an idea created because it was seen as exceptional.

Of course, there were no political parties at the time. The men who agreed upon the EC may not have had any notion of what it would end up becoming. Would they still have agreed with it if they knew how it would involve political parties, winner-takes-all distribution of EC votes, and how easily information about candidates is now spread? That is impossible to know.

If you study the writings of the time (there are too many for Me to list in a simple post) you'll get a huge understanding of what their thoughts were when they formed this country.

They actually had the Feds compartmentalized away from power and gave the real power to the States. The Federal Government existed for the sole purpose of settling disputes between the States, but more importantly, the President wasn't a figure of power in our nation. He was the Chief Law enforcement, but the main job of the President was to be the "Front man" of the people to the world. Nothing more than just that. That is why foreign policy is invested in the President.

When we first formed this country, the States were treated as individuals, and they had rights separated from the Citizens. That is why we have a Senate and a House. One represented the interests of the States, the other the interest of the people.

It was from the Senate and the States looking after their interests that lead to the debates over the Electoral College and the demand that each State be treated as an equal to every other State.

 

[Billiejeens]

I read about this years ago in a class on Constitutional Law. In the late 18th century, the Founders were faced with a population of voters, most of whom had very little education.There were no public schools. Many could not read at all. The men at the Constitutional Convention were worried that one or more unscrupulous demagogues could hoodwink the voters into putting them in office with deceptive speeches. Their solution was to set up an electoral college which would include only educated men who could check on the backgrounds of candidates for office to see if they were qualified and honest.

Today, with widespread public education a reality, this would not be necessary.

Totally and completely factually false.

 

[Billiejeens]

I read about this years ago in a class on Constitutional Law. In the late 18th century, the Founders were faced with a population of voters, most of whom had very little education.There were no public schools. Many could not read at all. The men at the Constitutional Convention were worried that one or more unscrupulous demagogues could hoodwink the voters into putting them in office with deceptive speeches. Their solution was to set up an electoral college which would include only educated men who could check on the backgrounds of candidates for office to see if they were qualified and honest.

Today, with widespread public education a reality, this would not be necessary.

Republicans will fight like hell to keep it. They don't need to win the popular vote, just a handful of Klan states. The one man/one vote idea scares the hell out of them.

You're an idiot

 

[Shelzin]

I read about this years ago in a class on Constitutional Law. In the late 18th century, the Founders were faced with a population of voters, most of whom had very little education.There were no public schools. Many could not read at all. The men at the Constitutional Convention were worried that one or more unscrupulous demagogues could hoodwink the voters into putting them in office with deceptive speeches. Their solution was to set up an electoral college which would include only educated men who could check on the backgrounds of candidates for office to see if they were qualified and honest.

Today, with widespread public education a reality, this would not be necessary.

None of that is true, but you go on with your bad self.

The electoral college was put into place to keep the big, more populace states from running roughshod over their rights.

What do you base that on? I know it's a popular idea, but did any of the founders write that they were worried about more populous states having power over smaller states and that's why the EC was created? I haven't found much writing directly about the system from those who were involved in creating it.

I've read that there were some who wanted Congress to elect the president, some who wanted a popular vote, some who wanted state legislatures to elect the president. There were problems with each: political corruption seemed like an issue with the first, difficulty with the populace becoming knowledgeable about candidates was an issue with the second (regardless of education level, information just wasn't as easily disseminated), a lessening of federal authority was an issue with the third. The EC was supposedly a compromise, rather than an idea created because it was seen as exceptional.

Of course, there were no political parties at the time. The men who agreed upon the EC may not have had any notion of what it would end up becoming. Would they still have agreed with it if they knew how it would involve political parties, winner-takes-all distribution of EC votes, and how easily information about candidates is now spread? That is impossible to know.

Well you are a well spoken mother fucker aren't ya? I agree with... Well damn near everything you just said, if not everything.

Regardless... That's what the electoral college does now, even if it wasn't meant back then.