So today is Election day here in the US. I only recently found out what I believed to be the way the President is elected is incorrect. I thought that the public voted for the President and the Electoral College in a state had to vote for who the public voted for in that state. Well, I was wrong, and that really disheartened me. I considered not voting since it really doesn't matter. I live in NJ, which is a state, like NY, that does not require the electoral college to vote for who the public voted for. This is why Bush was elected in 2000. Florida is another state like NY and NJ. Technically, we the people, don't vote for the President, we vote for which group of electoral reps (Democrat or Republican) we want to vote for us. Mind you, I'm not saying we pick the electoral reps, they are chosen by their parties, and we have absolutely no say in that decision either. They are chosen by their parties with the belief that if the people vote them in they will indeed vote for their party. However, in 2000 in Florida, the people voted in the Democrats electoral reps and they voted in the Republican candidate. I did vote, but only because if it happens again where the people vote in one candidate and the Electoral college votes in another I want to find out how we can change the law so more states are required to follow their citizens votes.
More about the Electoral College can be found here along with support of my above rant:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electoral_College_(United_States)
The green papers are here:
http://www.thegreenpapers.com/PCom/20010123-0.htmlAnd FAQS about the Electoral College are here:
http://www.archives.gov/federal-register/electoral-college/faq.html Knowledge is power, understand the process.