• Please take a moment and update your account profile. If you have an updated account profile with basic information on why you are on Air Warriors it will help other people respond to your posts. How do you update your profile you ask?

    Go here:

    Edit Account Details and Profile

Florida just wants some love

Zilch

This...is...Caketown!
Well, it would be nice to have a primary that actually mattered. Usually by the time we vote in primarys, it's a moot point.
 

insanebikerboy

Internet killed the television star
pilot
None
Contributor
Just give it another few elections and we'll start seeing primary's happen right after the previous president swears in. I think it's retarded people are campaigning/debating/having primary more than a year in advance.
 

Zilch

This...is...Caketown!
You know, it'd be great if the whole nation (GASP) voted on the same day. The whole election system is jacked up...electoral college? Come on.
 

Kickflip89

Below Ladder
None
Contributor
You know, it'd be great if the whole nation (GASP) voted on the same day. The whole election system is jacked up...electoral college? Come on.

Don't you know that some states are more equal than others?
 

Cate

Pretty much invincible
You know, it'd be great if the whole nation (GASP) voted on the same day. The whole election system is jacked up...electoral college? Come on.
Well, I'll agree with you that the electoral system is jacked up. But I disagree that the primaries should all be on the same day, and this is why.

In the past, there have been a few states with early primaries, and those have gotten all of the attention from candidates. We always hear about Iowa, New Hampshire, Florida, South Carolina, and California. A lot of the other states just don't get to see a candidate until campaigning starts for the general election, and in some solidly red or blue states, not at all; I didn't see a single major Democratic candidate in person the entire time I was in Georgia.

Now, folks are moving up. Primaries have moved up in Nevada and Alabama, among other states. Everybody's challenging N.H. to be "first in the nation." In the south, Super Tuesday was created deliberately to increase the influence of southern states, and what happened? With all of the primaries on the same day, candidates couldn't decide where to go, and they ended up just going to the ones with the most delegates. Instead of actual personal visits and attention to the voters, candidates have to rely on media and spin, which puts the richest candidates at the head of the pack at the expense of less-rich, but (potentially) just as qualified, candidates.

And suddenly you've got Giuliani running against Clinton, you've never seen either of them in person, and you don't know that there aren't two kick-ass candidates somewhere who never got a chance because they couldn't afford a Super Tuesday media blitz.

Now, I know it would take a little bit of math, but I'd love to see a system that wasn't so front-loaded that any candidate was able to cement a nomination early on. Keep California toward the end, for instance, and the candidates would be forced to spread out a little and pace themselves. Or, barring that, just assign primary dates randomly.
 

Zilch

This...is...Caketown!
How would that be different from the final elections, which are held on the same day?
 

CommodoreMid

Whateva! I do what I want!
None
Super Moderator
Contributor
How would that be different from the final elections, which are held on the same day?

Because that would essentially create two general elections. With the first one, he with the most money wins.
 

Brett327

Well-Known Member
None
Super Moderator
Contributor
Because that would essentially create two general elections. With the first one, he with the most money wins.

No, that would create a National Primary and a General election. Many other countries use that system and somehow anarchy does not ensue. I'm not necessarily for or against it, but it is a viable alternative.

Brett
 

CommodoreMid

Whateva! I do what I want!
None
Super Moderator
Contributor
No, that would create a National Primary and a General election. Many other countries use that system and somehow anarchy does not ensue. I'm not necessarily for or against it, but it is a viable alternative.

Brett

Poor choice of wording on my part. It would be another national election. The cost of campaigning would skyrocket among all the minor candidates, assuring that the richest candidate in each party would go to the general election. While I hate the system that is currently in place, by forcing the candidates to focus only on a couple states definitely lowers the costs and widens the playing field.
 

statesman

Shut up woman... get on my horse.
pilot
Those that dont support the Electoral College aparently do not support the republican principle (small r republican) of minority rights.

Think about a US where California Texas and New York voted the same way. The election is pretty much over at that point, there is no competition. The electoral college gives smaller states a voice. Just as the Senate does.

One way to reform the college might be to have the states split their votes and move away from a winner take all system, but thats up to the individual states and they have that right if they wish. Maine for instance can split its votes.
 

Brett327

Well-Known Member
None
Super Moderator
Contributor
Those that dont support the Electoral College aparently do not support the republican principle (small r republican) of minority rights.

Think about a US where California Texas and New York voted the same way. The election is pretty much over at that point, there is no competition. The electoral college gives smaller states a voice. Just as the Senate does.

One way to reform the college might be to have the states split their votes and move away from a winner take all system, but thats up to the individual states and they have that right if they wish. Maine for instance can split its votes.

To pile on, those who don't support the Electoral College, don't understand how it works or why it is used (as you've stated).

Brett
 
Top