Reddit mentions of Why the Electoral College Is Bad for America

It is true. The problem of disproportionate influence over the election stems primarily from the electoral college. It's compounded by the spoiler effect, various state winner-take-all policies, and voting laws. Floridian voters during the 2000 Presidential election, for instance, were the primary deciding factor in the election and their votes effectively counted thousands of times more than any other vote in the US.

Another problem caused by the electoral college is that small state votes count for more votes than larger states, proportionally to population. This means voters in a populous state, which is already somewhat discouraging to voters as their vote is likely to mean less (given that state electors are given only to the candidate with the most votes, and not proportionally), but it is also compounded by their vote actually counting for less than in other states.

And of course, the spoiler effect, which plagues most elections in the US, keeps people from being able to actually vote for who they want to vote for and ensures a permanent two-party system. It's kind of difficult to find motivation to vote in the US.

Information in this post gleaned primarily from this book as well as this book. I also recommend FairVote.org.

dude, i'm getting pretty sick of this talking down. i wanted to keep this civil, but if you want to continually disparage me, then fuck you, let me explain it to you like the imbecile you are.

media attention and funding are not the only reasons a third party cannot win here (you fuckmuffin)

a winner takes all system in which a candidate with a plurality of votes (hey, retard, plurality means the most votes, but not more than 50%) gets all the votes inherently leads to a two party system. this book (these things, shit brains, are kind of like reddit, but printed on dead trees. also, you don't get to constantly tell the author how much smarter you are) explains why. not that a closed-minded fuck like you will ever read it

again, (and I don't know how to dumb this down any more than I already have) a winner-takes all system like the US makes two party systems very likely. for third parties to flourish, as in Sweden, Denmark, and Germany, there needs to be a system with proportional representation, which is not what we have here in good 'ol 'Murica

as you've pushed this discussion past the point of civil conversation, this is the last time I will be responding to your asinine replies.

sincerely,

fuck you