[Magdalen] Stupid question

[Scott Knitter]

I've often wondered the same things. My assumptions (which may be
wrong, of course):
1. The primaries are a function of the parties, basically, and perhaps
the state party organizations most of all. I assume that it would be
possible for the parties to select their candidates solely through
conventions restricted to card-carrying party members but that
primaries and caucuses were adopted as the best poll of the party
members and sympathizers in each state. So now we have that tradition,
with its varying rules by state (and D.C. and Puerto Rico, Democrats
Abroad, etc.).
2. The Electoral College comes up for discussion every four years,
just like daylight saving time every six months, and then it all
quiets down again. On the one hand it seems a quaint mechanism
designed for a large country pre-Internet and pre-automobile (and
pre-radio). One advantage I can think of is that the Electoral College
system quickly pinpoints the location of a problem: the Bush-Gore
problem was pinpointed to Florida. If the general election were
nationwide majority, I wonder how that might have gone. Perhaps the
hanging chads would not have surfaced as much of a problem at all. But
I think Electoral College proponents have better arguments than this,
and so do opponents.

On Wed, May 4, 2016 at 10:05 AM, Grace Cangialosi <gracecan at gmail.com> wrote:
> I feel very ignorant in asking this, but I wonder if someone can explain to me--or point me to a source--why we don't elect by popular vote?  Why can't they just add up all the votes in the primaries and declare the winners in each party based on the totals?
> Then do the same with the general election--the one with the most votes wins. Then you wouldn't have the ridiculous situation we had with Bush-Gore.  And wouldn't that be likely to bring out more voters, since they would feel their vote actually counted?
>
> I'm sure there is some historical reason, and it may even be a good one, but I don't know what it is...



-- 
Scott R. Knitter
Edgewater, Chicago, Illinois USA