Who would the world elect?

[Pam]

My brother forwarded this link to me yesterday in an e-mail. It is a place where anyone can vote for who they want for president. I recognize that it isn't really representative of the whole world, but only those who have thus far received the e-mail. Interestingly, Ron Paul seems to win hands down in many countries. Apparently the world is smarter than I thought it was. :) He was who I wanted all along. Obviously others agreed with me. :)

Here's the link and you can vote and pass it on. :)
http://whowouldtheworldelect.com/

[Barbara]

I think it is online too short to be representative. It shows 792 votes in Germany for Denis Kucinich and I doubt that there are 1000 people here who know who he is;) Just like there will not be too many US people knowing who Günther Westerwelle is;)

[pomtzu]

You could always do a write-in for Kinky Friedman! :rolleyes:

[Lady's Human]

It's also far too easy for someone with a tech-savvy base to rig it to look like their candidate is far, far more popular than they actually are.

[pomtzu]

In my opinion (for all it's worth), we just need to vote - regardless who it's for. If you sit on your back-side and give up your right to vote - you also give up your right to complain about who got elected! And it's usually the ones who complain the loudest that never voted in the first place. :(

[Pam]

In my opinion (for all it's worth), we just need to vote - regardless who it's for.

Your opinion is worth a lot and I agree! :) I had thought originally that I didn't want to vote because I was not impressed with either candidate. I knew in my heart that I would wind up voting for someone in the end though. It is a privilege that we must not take for granted. I plan to be glued to the debates and watching both sides closely as the days unfold. I am, and have always been, a Sen. Biden fan. Obama definitely scored with me on his selection there. We will see what McCain has up his sleeve.

[pomtzu]

I had thought originally that I didn't want to vote because I was not impressed with either candidate.

I'm right there with you! If they would make it a Biden/Obama ticket instead of the other way around, I would know who I'm voting for. And I don't say that just because I'm from Delaware. If Obama wins, Delaware will lose a great senator! As for McCain - I too am taking a wait and see attitude. It will all depend on his choice for v.p. that I will base my decision on. At McCain's age, there's a greater chance that the v.p. will have to take over!

[Karen]

I suspect this email has been circulated to a Ron paul mailing list! ;) Interesting, anyway.

[Pam]

I'm right there with you! If they would make it a Biden/Obama ticket instead of the other way around, I would know who I'm voting for. And I don't say that just because I'm from Delaware. If Obama wins, Delaware will lose a great senator! As for McCain - I too am taking a wait and see attitude. It will all depend on his choice for v.p. that I will base my decision on. At McCain's age, there's a greater chance that the v.p. will have to take over!

Delaware is a neighboring state for me and I have watched Sen. Biden over the years and always had a great deal of respect for him. My daughter currently lives in Maryland right over the Delaware line and I hope to retire to either Delaware or Maryland in the not too distant future. :) I, too, would prefer to have Biden at the top of the ticket. ;) Time will tell how this plays out. It's not over until the fat lady sings. LOL! By the way, what town are you in, in Delaware?

P.S. Just saw on the news that there is a Biden party at Timothy's tonight. I actually know where that is! My son used to work right down the street from there!

[pomtzu]

By the way, what town are you in, in Delaware?

I'm in Clayton which is about 10 miles n.w. of Dover. But actually Clayton is only the mailing address - I'm about 5 miles west of there in mostly farm country - just a few miles from the DE/MD line.

I too have a lot of respect for Joe Biden. I met him one time on Amtrak when he was on his way to Washington and I was going to Baltimore. He's a very down to earth guy even tho a lot of people think he talks too much. He just tells it like it is and doesn't pull any punches.:)

[Pam]

I'm in Clayton which is about 10 miles n.w. of Dover. But actually Clayton is only the mailing address - I'm about 5 miles west of there in mostly farm country - just a few miles from the DE/MD line.


I would drive through Dover on the way to my aunt's in Salisbury, Maryland when she was living, and my son has gone to NASCAR in Dover. ;) I think you are about a half hour from my daughter's. She is in Elkton, MD.

[pomtzu]

[QUOTE=Pam;2054549 I think you are about a half hour from my daughter's. She is in Elkton, MD.[/QUOTE]

Yup - she's up there close to the "big city folk" in Newark & Wilmington. I lived in Newark for a couple of years and worked at the U of DE before moving downstate - "Slower DE" as those city folk up there refer to anyone living south of the C & D Canal. I don't know if that's a reference to our lifestyle or our brains!! :confused: LOL They're just jealous!! LOL again.. :D

[lizbud]

Your opinion is worth a lot and I agree! :) I had thought originally that I didn't want to vote because I was not impressed with either candidate. I knew in my heart that I would wind up voting for someone in the end though. It is a privilege that we must not take for granted. I plan to be glued to the debates and watching both sides closely as the days unfold. I am, and have always been, a Sen. Biden fan. Obama definitely scored with me on his selection there. We will see what McCain has up his sleeve.


I'm just now catching up on the conversation here & I want to say how
glad I am to read that you will be voting Pam.:) It is a "right" they many
people have died to preserve for us. You are much to smart to not have
your voice heard. :) Good for you.

[Catlady711]

I have no intention of ever voting for any president. I don't see the point of it, my 'canidates' are hand picked and my vote doesn't really count anyways.

First the 'party' picks a few people to run a media circus. Then they find out which ones get the most hurrahs. Then they narrow that down to one choice for each main party, one more if the states 'allow' an independent or some other party. Then on election day my vote doesn't count for diddly since it's the electorial college that does the actual voting for president.

Now before anyone gets their knickers in a twist...
1) This is the dog house and politics was already the subject.
2) I don't intend to change my views as long as the current method of elections for president are in place.
3) It's America and I'm free to have a different viewpoint than the majority.


For the interested.....

List of all presidential candidates on at least some state ballots..
http://www.votesmart.org/election_president_search.php?type=alpha


Indirct Election
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indirect_election


Ballot Access
http://www.hks.harvard.edu/case/3pt/winger.html


Barr plans lawsuit to get on state ballot
http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?articleID=20080715_1__OKLAH24382


Olathe presidential candidate will be on Colorado ballot, write-in in other states
http://www.montrosepress.com/articles/2008/08/07/news/doc489a460607f7b677289113.txt
For other states, Allen is getting the necessary paperwork done to be a write-in candidate. Eight states don’t allow a write-in on the ballot, he said.


Iowans will have seven presidential candidates to choose from when they go to the polls in November.
http://www.desmoinesregister.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080816/NEWS10/808160335


Michigan governement website - only Rep. or Dem. allowed to be on ballot.
http://www.michigan.gov/documents/sos/Ballot_Pres_20081_208311_7.pdf

Presidential candidates who wish to appear on the presidential primary ballot must run as a Republican Party candidate or a Democratic Party candidate. (MCL 168.613a(3) as amended under PA 52 of 2007) Candidates without political party affiliation ("independent candidates") are not qualified to appear on the presidential primary ballot.


Virginia government website - only Rep. or Dem. allowed to be on ballot.
http://www.sbe.virginia.gov/cms/documents/Cidates/Bulletins/08PresPri_BAL_ACSS.pdf

The Democratic Party of Virginia and the Republican Party of Virginia are the only organizations currently recognized as political parties under ' 24.2-101 of the Code of Virginia. Therefore, they are the only political parties permitted to select a Presidential Primary in connection with the respective national conventions in the summer of 2008.





This is copied from the "unofficial' home of the Electorial College... I cannot attest to the accuracy of their info.
http://www.presidentelect.org/faq.html#2-19


Q What happens if there is a tie in the popular vote?

The same thing that happens when there is not a tie in the popular vote - nothing! The Electoral College elects the president. The nation-wide popular vote has no legal significance in our electoral system so a tie would not effect anything, nor require a recount.


Q How many times in the history of the U.S. has a president been elected with a majority of the Electoral College and a minority of the popular vote?

That depends on how you interpret "a minority of the popular vote"!

If you mean how many times has the winner not won a majority of the popular vote - or more than 50% - then it has happened more often than you might think! 18 times!

1824 John Quincy Adams
1844 James Polk
1848 Zachary Taylor
1856 James Buchanan
1860 Abraham Lincoln
1876 Rutherford B. Hayes
1880 James Garfield
1884 Grover Cleveland
1888 Benjamin Harrison
1892 Grover Cleveland
1912 Woodrow Wilson
1916 Woodrow Wilson
1948 Harry Truman
1960 John F. Kennedy
1968 Richard Nixon
1992 Bill Clinton
1996 Bill Clinton
2000 George W. Bush

If you mean how many times has the winner not won a plurality of the popular vote - or more than his opponents - then the answer is 4.

1824 John Quincy Adams
1876 Rutherford B. Hayes
1888 Benjamin Harrison
2000 George W. Bush


Q: Whoever wins a state gets all of that states' electoral votes. Why can't the states split their electoral votes in the case of a close race? In other words if a state like Idaho, which has 4 electoral votes were split about 50/50 in the popular vote, could the electoral college votes go 50/50 also, or 2 votes for each? Why should California give 55 Electoral votes to one person when that person may have only won the state by 1% of the popular votes?

You are correct. In almost every state they will not split the electoral votes even if both candidates are within 1% of each other! But you asked "Why can't the votes be split in case of a close race"? The answer is they can be! The Constitution allows each state legislature to decide how to allocate their electoral votes. If Idaho or California wanted to, they could simply pass a law that says they will split their electoral votes according to the percentage of votes won by each candidate! In fact two states already do something similar. In Maine and Nebraska, the candidate who wins the state gets only 2 electoral votes. The rest of the votes are allocated based on which candidates wins in each Congressional district!

Q If a candidate wins the election in early November, but dies sometime in December - what happens on inauguration day? Who becomes President?

That depends on when the candidate dies. If he were to die AFTER the Electoral College votes (December 15 in 2008), then his vice presidential running mate would become president. If he were to die BEFORE the Electoral College votes, then the electors would pick whoever they wanted to vote for. So, technically, someone who didn't even run could be elected president! In practice, the party of the deceased candidate would decide what to do and ask their electors to honor that decision.

Q What if there is a tie in the Electoral College with both candidates getting 269 electoral votes? What is the procedure for resolving that scenario? Popular Vote? Arm Wrestling?

Neither! If the candidates tie 269-269 then Congress would decide the winner.

The 435 members of the House of Representatives would choose the next President from among the top 3 electoral vote getters. However, a special voting procedure is employed in this situation. Each state receives only one vote and the representatives from each state have to decide which candidate gets theirs. (For example, all 34 of Texas' representatives will vote individually. Then their votes are tallied. Which ever candidate receives a majority of these 32 votes wins Texas' one vote; if no candidate receives a majority of these 34 votes, Texas' one vote is not cast.) As long as members from at least 34 states are present, which ever candidate receives the votes of at least 26 states is declared the President. If no one reaches 26 votes, further balloting is done. (It took the Representatives 36 ballots over 6 days to reach a winner in the 1800 election!)

The 100 members of the Senate would choose the next Vice President from among the top 2 electoral vote getters. The voting procedure here is much more straightforward. At least 67 Senators must be present, and each person casts one vote. Which ever VP candidate receives at least 51 votes is declared the winner.

If you were paying close attention you might have noticed that it is possible for the president and vice president to be from different parties in this scenario!

[Lady's Human]

The electoral college was put in place to counteract the influence of large urban areas. Without it a presidential candidate could ignore rural areas completely and just run in urban centers, essentially disenfranchising large areas of the country.

[Edwina's Secretary]

I often find it sad and I suppose a bit funny -- we send our sons and daughters to die in order to "bring democracy" to other countries when we don't really have it here -- at least in picking the president.

A system designed when the country - certainly in terms of rural vs. urban - was VERY different than it is today just might...just might need some updating! Candidates can still ignore a state they don't believe they can win or for any reason they please. And they do.

I agree the Electoral College is an outdate antiquity! But I still vote. And one day I hope my vote will elect someone who believes in democracy at home too! ;)