Direct Democracy. Would you vote for it?
If you had the chance of changing representative democracy in a country like the US into direct democracy, would you support/vote for it? Do you think it would be a big failure or that it could work out? Assume that if it was voted for it would take into effect a few years from now (not right away, but not in the far future either).
If your choice is that it would be a big failure, do you think that it is the best political system or do you have another favorite choice?
Shortcomings of the Current Presidential Election System
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Bubba
I've thought about this and while it makes sense I believe b/c 75% of the U.S. population is concentrated in about 13 major urban centers across the country that a direct democracy is just not plausible at this time. The electoral college balances all that out while itself also not being a perfect system.
The current system of electing the president ensures that the candidates do not reach out to all of the states. Presidential candidates concentrate their attention on a handful of closely divided "battleground" states. In 2008, candidates concentrated over two-thirds of their campaign events and ad money in just six states, and 98% in just 15 states (CO, FL, IN, IA, MI, MN, MO, NV, NH, NM, NC, OH, PA, VA, and WI). Over half (57%) of the events were in just four states (Ohio, Florida, Pennsylvania and Virginia). In 2004, candidates concentrated over two-thirds of their money and campaign visits in five states; over 80% in nine states; and over 99% of their money in 16 states, and candidates concentrated over two-thirds of their money and campaign visits in five states and over 99% of their money in 16 states.
Two-thirds of the states and people have been merely spectators to the presidential elections.
Candidates have no reason to poll, visit, advertise, organize, campaign, or worry about the voter concerns in states where they are safely ahead or hopelessly behind. The reason for this is the state-by-state winner-take-all rule enacted by 48 states, under which all of a state's electoral votes are awarded to the candidate who gets the most votes in each separate state.
Another shortcoming of the current system is that a candidate can win the Presidency without winning the most popular votes nationwide. This has occurred in one of every 14 presidential elections.
In the past six decades, there have been six presidential elections in which a shift of a relatively small number of votes in one or two states would have elected (and, in 2000, did elect) a presidential candidate who lost the popular vote nationwide.