OneLight Posted November 9, 2016 Group: Royal Member Followers: 22 Topic Count: 1,294 Topics Per Day: 0.21 Content Count: 31,762 Content Per Day: 5.24 Reputation: 9,760 Days Won: 115 Joined: 09/14/2007 Status: Offline Share Posted November 9, 2016 (edited) It is very close to 7 am and the media had already called a victory for Trump. Here is why I am confused. Percentages: Trump and Hillary bother have 47.6% - a tie Popular Vote: Hillary has 58,879,610 votes and Trump has 58,844,022 votes - Hillary wins Electoral: Hillary has 218 and Trump has 279 - where my confusion is. Can someone help me figure out how this actually works, in detail. I know the basics, but this still does not add up to me. So everything is clear, I voted for Trump. Yet, the above figures don't add up to me. Does our vote actually count? Hillary won the popular vote, meaning more voted for her than Trump, yet she lost the election. This also happened with the Bush Gore election. Please, the voting is over so let's not bash anyone in this thread. I am sure there are many others who are pleased with the called results, but still do not understand how it was done. ... I am editing this to add that as more results come in, Hillary is gaining more ground in both the percentage and popular vote ... Edited November 9, 2016 by OneLight updates Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The_Patriot21 Posted November 9, 2016 Group: Worthy Ministers Followers: 28 Topic Count: 338 Topics Per Day: 0.05 Content Count: 15,696 Content Per Day: 2.46 Reputation: 8,515 Days Won: 39 Joined: 10/25/2006 Status: Offline Birthday: 02/27/1985 Share Posted November 9, 2016 The presidency is decided by electoral votes, not the popular. Each state gets so many electoral votes based on their population, and the popular vote in each individual state decides who gets the States electoral votes. So it is possible for a candidate to lose the popular and win the presidency, seems to me the same thing happened between bush and Gore. And 270 is the magic number. Unless something major happens (like bush losing California or Pennsylvania to recounts) it means he pretty much has won, there's no way Clinton can get enough electoral votes to get a majority. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OneLight Posted November 9, 2016 Group: Royal Member Followers: 22 Topic Count: 1,294 Topics Per Day: 0.21 Content Count: 31,762 Content Per Day: 5.24 Reputation: 9,760 Days Won: 115 Joined: 09/14/2007 Status: Offline Author Share Posted November 9, 2016 That is the confusion. If the states electoral votes are supposed to reflect the popular vote, how is it that she is winning the popular vote while still losing the electoral vote? 218 -Hillary Clinton ... 279 -Donald J. Trump (270 to win) 59,079,077 votes (47.6%) 58,941,325 votes (47.5%) I will be very surprised if this is not contested. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OneLight Posted November 9, 2016 Group: Royal Member Followers: 22 Topic Count: 1,294 Topics Per Day: 0.21 Content Count: 31,762 Content Per Day: 5.24 Reputation: 9,760 Days Won: 115 Joined: 09/14/2007 Status: Offline Author Share Posted November 9, 2016 In 2013, the census tells us there are 242,470,820 adults in the US. There are 538 individuals in the Electoral College - 1 vote per 450,689.3 adults The election, as it is now set up, allows the 538 Electoral College individuals to elect the president despite how the 242,470,820 adults voted. This, in my eyes, is not a true election, but one by 538 voters. Please tell me how our vote really counts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OneLight Posted November 9, 2016 Group: Royal Member Followers: 22 Topic Count: 1,294 Topics Per Day: 0.21 Content Count: 31,762 Content Per Day: 5.24 Reputation: 9,760 Days Won: 115 Joined: 09/14/2007 Status: Offline Author Share Posted November 9, 2016 30 minutes ago, The_Patriot2016 said: The presidency is decided by electoral votes, not the popular. Each state gets so many electoral votes based on their population, and the popular vote in each individual state decides who gets the States electoral votes. So it is possible for a candidate to lose the popular and win the presidency, seems to me the same thing happened between bush and Gore. And 270 is the magic number. Unless something major happens (like bush losing California or Pennsylvania to recounts) it means he pretty much has won, there's no way Clinton can get enough electoral votes to get a majority. Yes, that is the basics as we all understand it ... but how is it that the Electoral College who's supposed to reflect the popular vote, does not? It seems to me that the only one who really votes are the Electoral College voters. Perhaps I should of asked how is it that when a popular vote goes for one candidate, the Electoral College vote can go elect the other? With today's technology, I think it is time to allow each vote to carry its own weight and get rid of the Electoral College. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Logan Posted November 9, 2016 Group: Diamond Member Followers: 23 Topic Count: 32 Topics Per Day: 0.01 Content Count: 1,849 Content Per Day: 0.47 Reputation: 2,013 Days Won: 24 Joined: 07/08/2013 Status: Offline Birthday: 10/15/1996 Share Posted November 9, 2016 The electoral college reflects the popular vote of each individual state not the overall population. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OneLight Posted November 9, 2016 Group: Royal Member Followers: 22 Topic Count: 1,294 Topics Per Day: 0.21 Content Count: 31,762 Content Per Day: 5.24 Reputation: 9,760 Days Won: 115 Joined: 09/14/2007 Status: Offline Author Share Posted November 9, 2016 4 minutes ago, Logan said: The electoral college reflects the popular vote of each individual state not the overall population. That is how it was designed to work. Yet, is this a true "We the People" view? I see it as more "We the Electoral College". I see everyone in this country as equal, meaning each vote should count. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OneLight Posted November 9, 2016 Group: Royal Member Followers: 22 Topic Count: 1,294 Topics Per Day: 0.21 Content Count: 31,762 Content Per Day: 5.24 Reputation: 9,760 Days Won: 115 Joined: 09/14/2007 Status: Offline Author Share Posted November 9, 2016 Here is an interesting read about how the Electoral College came about ... a history lesson. It begins with: "Established in Article II, Section 1 of the U.S. Constitution, the Electoral College is the formal body which elects the President and Vice President of the United States. Each state has as many "electors" in the Electoral College as it has Representatives and Senators in the United States Congress, and the District of Columbia has three electors. When voters go to the polls in a Presidential election, they actually are voting for the slate of electors vowing to cast their ballots for that ticket in the Electoral College." http://history.house.gov/Institution/Electoral-College/Electoral-College/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The_Patriot21 Posted November 9, 2016 Group: Worthy Ministers Followers: 28 Topic Count: 338 Topics Per Day: 0.05 Content Count: 15,696 Content Per Day: 2.46 Reputation: 8,515 Days Won: 39 Joined: 10/25/2006 Status: Offline Birthday: 02/27/1985 Share Posted November 9, 2016 1 hour ago, OneLight said: That is how it was designed to work. Yet, is this a true "We the People" view? I see it as more "We the Electoral College". I see everyone in this country as equal, meaning each vote should count. Problem with that is if we went entirely off the popular vote, then every election would be decided by population centers, like new York city, LA, Dallas, etc. If you lived in Wyoming or Alaska, you might as well not even bother going to the polls because your vote really won't count. Doing it this way gives low population States more of a say then a popular vote would, and the country being a republic and not a democracy, was setup more towards state control anyway. Think of it this way. If we decided to only go off a popular vote, Clinton would be our next president. Our electoral college may not be perfect, but it's preferable to the alternative. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoldenEagle Posted November 9, 2016 Group: Royal Member Followers: 4 Topic Count: 764 Topics Per Day: 0.18 Content Count: 7,626 Content Per Day: 1.81 Reputation: 1,559 Days Won: 44 Joined: 10/03/2012 Status: Offline Share Posted November 9, 2016 The electoral college is an outdated system in my opinion. It was established in 1787. It served the country well in a time when there wasn't computers, internet, television, or social media. When people elected a represented individual to vote for their portion of the population. I think it should simply be switched over to a popular vote to determines the winner. Here's the numbers as of 8:25AM CST: Hilary 218 Trump 274 46 electoral college votes remain but a good chuck will go to Trump. Arizona will go to Trump with 11 votes. Michigan with 16 votes is a tossup. Also New Hampshire with 4 votes is a tossup. It surprised me that he won in Ohio (18 votes), Pennsylvania (20 votes), Florida (29 votes), and Iowa (6 votes) Note: 270 electoral college votes needed to win. Of interest Republicans now hold a majority in the House and Senate too: Senate Democrats 47 Senate Republicans 51 Note: 2 Seats in play. 51 needed for control. House Democrats 191 House Republicans 235 Note: 9 Seats in play. 218 need for control. Source: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/elections/2016/presidential-election-headquarters Donald Trump won over 50% of the vote of those 40 and over. Also, I too voted for Trump. I was going to vote 3rd party but last minute changed my mind when I got to the voting station. God bless, GE Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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