ah the joys of copy 'n paste...

So. Whew, only 1199 more words to go. Have I hooked your attention? That’s right, I’m a hooker. Just in case you are wondering, the reason I am writing so informally is because this is a blog, and so it does not deserve the formality of the traditional essay. Plus, what is more “hooking” that informality?

Anyhoo, this blog is going to be about the problems of presidential elections, and the possible solutions to these problems. Although, if the government has not yet discovered the solutions, then what hope does a seventeen year old MAN have? Even if I am extraordinarily brilliant. For instance, I spelled extraordinarily correct first try.

So, problems with the presidential elections. To the internet! Shoot, because I live in the country, I have satellite internet, and it is raining pretty heavy so my internet is currently down. Perhaps I shall try again later.

Well, the first page to come up is Wikipedia, but I have been told that this page is not entirely reliable, so I shall avoid it for now.

I suppose that before going into the problems of the electoral system, first I must inform you of what the Electoral College does and how it came to be established in America. As with most of the American governmental system, the Electoral College is not entirely original. The system was derived from the Holy Roman Empire. An elector was one of the princes from the many German states within the Holy Roman Empire who had the right to participate in the election of the German king. The system became American federal law in 1845, and today the term appears in 3 U.S.C. section 4, in the section heading and in the text as "college of electors."

Wow, this is incredibly boring. Looks like I found problem number one.

Okay, so let us look at some problems concerning the Electoral College system. I say “some” because in the past 200 years, over 700 proposals to change the process have been made. I only plan on going over two at the moment. First, is the possibility of electing a minority president. In other, longer words, with the current system there is the possibility that the loser of the presidential election, might win more popular votes, but in the long run gain less electoral votes. This is because of the winner take all system. Take Idaho, which has four electoral votes, for example. If candidate number one gets forty-nine percent of the popular vote, and candidate two gets fifty-one percent of the popular vote, then candidate two gets all four electoral votes. Such a scenario happened in 2000, when Al Gore lost the presidential election to George Bush, even though Gore secured .51% more popular vote. So even though Gore received more votes from the citizens, Bush won because of the winner take all system. .51% may not seem like much, but in the large run it is roughly 543,895 votes.

The second problem also deals with the winner take all system. Because certain states traditionally favor one party, it is highly likely that this system leads to less voter turnout. Take South Carolina, a traditional republican state, for example. But before I go into this, let me blog about something a bit more personal for a second. I am feeling intense dislike towards my brother at this moment. He is right behind me, play songs by the band Counting Crows. Now, I enjoy this band, it has many good songs. What I do not enjoy is listening to my brother sing along loudly and badly. Unfortunately I have not the courage to call him out and tell him to die in a hole so I can stop praying to the Lord to puncture my ear drums, so instead I am releasing some of my fury into this blog. Where was I? Ah yes, South Carolina. So in 2008 John McCain won South Carolina. He won with 53.9% of the popular vote. In other words, the other 46.1% of voters basically voted for nothing, because their votes did nothing to contribute to their candidate’s electoral winnings. I can see a lot of people thinking, “What is the point in voting if the republicans are going to win anyways?” Well, I can’t literally see them thinking, because if I could see people’s thoughts, I would not waste time worrying about their political thoughts. But that story is for a different blog. But anyhoo, I can understand if lots of democrats and third party voters deciding not to bother with the waste of time of voting for a lost cause.

Well, the obvious solution to such a problem would be to stop the ridiculous Electoral College business and start deciding the president via the popular vote alone. But, you must think more intellectually than that. It is such an obvious solution that I very much doubt that I am the first to figure this out. I would bet an oak to an acorn that one of those 700 proposals has mentioned this idea. So the government probably has a pretty good reason for not making this the method of choosing the president.

Before I enter my next solution, let me mention that now my brother is singing Elton John. Once again, I am okay with this artist. Once again, I am NOT okay with my brother butchering the song through his dramatic interpretation.

Right, roughly 300 words left to think of a solution to solve a problem that has stumped America’s most brilliant political minds for centuries. I’ve already thought of many solutions. Most of them involve magic. One or two of them involve using hypnosis to brainwash everyone into believing that the current system, or whatever system the brainwasher prefers, is the correct way to run things.

Honestly I do not see what is wrong with the way things currently work. I mean, no system is perfect, and no system makes everyone happy. All I know is that through my research, people will find problems no matter what. Just think of those 700-ish proposals to change or abolish the Electoral College. If there had been nothing wrong with the proposals, then surely our Congress would have gladly made the switch. Maybe I should have picked a different topic. But I doubt that would have made much of a difference. On a random note, I’m watching Cats. On a less random note, I still have yet to think of a solution that would truly solve all the problems. I do not believe it to be possible. Unfortunately I am cursed with seeing both sides of the argument. Only 100-ish more words to go! Hmmm, how many different ways can I explain that there is no perfect solution, and I am happily content with the way things are run. Whoops, I am NOT happily content with the way things are run, just the way this particular system is set up. There are plenty of problems in our government that need solving. Like the economy. Or. . . oh I don’t know, I joined this class to LEARN about the stupid government, not try to fix it. Only four more words. Although that last sentence was actually the four I needed. Sweet. Anyhoo, in conclusion, our American government is not perfect, and most likely will never be perfect. Unless you allow me to take control. I suppose that is actually my best solution. Although that probably falls under the category of “magical” because I cannot imagine me ever ruling this country. Maybe I should stop wishing for my ear drums to puncture and focus on the important things at hand. . .like world domination. Ah, don’t you feel nice and informed? Good night. . .and good luck.