After all these years, I don't fully comprehend the electoral system. I find that the entire voting process drags on and could be scaled down to be more efficient.
That's just me, though. I look at inefficiencies with whatever I see and do. I do that at work, and make suggestions and proposals to make things better.
Luckily, I'm not tasked with making the US voting process simpler and easier. I applaud the record turnout. However, it seems ridiculous to spend eight hours lining up at a polling station to cast your important vote.
Anyway, I am still watching the election programming. I like that I can watch Global TV on Amazon Prime. It's cool and convenient.
I can only imagine the horror with which people outside the U.S. view our election system. It needs a total re-write.
ReplyDeleteThe thing to understand about the Electoral College is that the government was intended mostly as a compact between sovereign states. So, the President was supposed to represent the person the states agreed on.
That's antiquated and dysfunctional in the modern world, where a person in California may well be working everyday with a person in New York using videoconferencing. But to change the system requires small states to give up power, and there are way too many of them to make that easy.
We desperately need a President who represents the people of the country, not the states. And given the pandemic, it would be best if that person were chosen without each voter having to go to a common location and cast their vote in person. And, frankly, we could have better representation with rank choice voting or something, rather than a first-past-the-pole system.
If only we could get a nice analyst to work on this and come up with a solution.
I appreciate your perspective.
DeleteIn grade 12, I had the option of taking world or American history. I chose the former. I wish that I had time to do the latter then, but your explanation is comprehensive for my needs right now.
I lived in the States in 2000 and I was introduced to the chad controversy. I also voted in the Canadian federal election from afar. The federal results were tallied hours after the polls closed across Canada.
I agree that the electoral system in the States needs to be revamped. It is far too complicated with way too much overhead. Here's hoping that we have a final result soon and that things remain peaceful.
They are still making progress toward a result. But I think it will be at least another two days before we have definitive results in all the states. I think we are headed for a much more stable person in the White House, even if he isn't a genius.
ReplyDeleteYes, having a stable person who does not fabricate nonsense works best for any nation. Frankly, Biden is a genius in comparison to 45, which is a welcomed change.
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