Chris Hayes explains why the weirdest thing about the Electoral College is that if it wasn't specifically in the Constitution, it would be unconstitutional.
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Hayes: We Should Run The Presidential Election The Way We Run EVERY Other Election. | All In | MSNBC
I remember thinking this in Elementary school when I learned of it. How sad is it that it hasn’t been reversed after the lower % won twice in recent memory…
@Dallas Dunston The point of the Electoral collage is to prevent a populous tyrant from getting into office. You may disagree with Hillary Clinton and Al Gore but neither were tyrants.
@Drew Oliver And nobody is suggesting a “pure democracy”. The “ignored” (minority) have hijacked and are totally abusing the process to rule over the majority as the Rs are doing right now in the Senate ranging from stealing Supreme Court nominations, obstructing justice, packing the bench for life, gerrymandering the majority out of power and stonewalling EVERY piece of legislation out of spite just because the other side presents it.
The picture is a little bigger than elementary school. If everyone had a say then kids wouldnt be in elementary school.
@Karlthegreat84 shouldnt this issue supercede partisanship though?
@The Home Plate Special Why would Republicanicans* act in a bipartisan way if it would harm them?
* Note 1: Yes, that’s how they are called. They refuse to say “Democratic party” and keep naming it the “Democrat party”, so they shall be “Republicanicans”. Note 2: If any Republicanican thinks this is unfair, just learn English when it comes to Democrats and you will be given the correct name again.
Gerrymandering, as that’s how Trump won. Hillary got a significantly more votes, than Trump. I do want a popular vote, because the electoral College can elect who they want, even if the other candidate got way more votes. That is unconstitutional, in it’s nature.
Vicky Paulson
And Facebook is where 160 million voter got their “news” . The division of our society is being engineered before our very eyes. Trump has DICKtator envy. Period .
Leftists love the word “GERRYMANDERING” but don’t know what it means. It has ZERO to do with our Presidential Elections are done – Nor the Senate either. Of course Coastal LEFTISTS and Liberal Elites want to abandon the Electoral College. Forget it. It is literally a condition that states joined the union on and there is no way that is changing. Electoral College has never been MORE Relevant than now. NY and CA will not decide our President. But, dream on
@sfamerken12 there is a great danger with majority rule.
Many times the Supreme Court has had to be the mechanism to protect minority interests when the majority has gone too far. I do not think a strict majority rule is good.
I also believe the founding framework and bill of rights and three separate but coequal branched of govt has served us well especially nonmajority members of the country using such protections as separation of church and state, freedom of and from religion, civil rights legislatiion and freedom of speech.
All these and more are continually challenged with hits and misses. If one part is altered carelessly then other things will shift amd usually in unexpected, often harmful and unintended, ways. The picture is much more intricate than merely wanting simple majority.
I honestly do not want simple majority rule.
While who is president is important, I believe the framework of our country is more so. Someone being upset by Trump or Obama being president have just not made their case. The oness is on those wanting to upend the system. And that is as it should be.
The failure regarding presidential selection is much more a party structure and primary election issue than the electoral college in the general election.
Look at the democratic primary now? Does anyone really think Iowa and New Hampshire represents the makeup of America and are good tests? If a candidate doesnt place high in these two states or even get on a televised primary debate stage 5 months before even the first primary caucus in Iowa they are well out. We have fringe candidates getting airtime over accomplished knowledgable governors with real successes. This primary party concern is more of what helped famous Trump. We are falling to the age of celebrity and not competence and tested leaders.
People complain about too many candidates. Actually there are too few qualified candidates.
These primary issues are more troublesome than 50 states having a say.
Then there is gerrymandering at the local levels because the little fish prop up the big fish as partisans.
Then considered the money factor. Not to mention dark money. There is little to no chance of a non corporate well funded candidate winning a nomination.
Even if so then there is lobbyist power over our officials.
The picture is much bigger than trying to impede 50 states from each having a collective voice.
If the national general voting scheme is altered then the next change may be disbanding states. We become balkanized.
Trump won the popular vote in the states that counted. And that’s why he’s the President, and Hillary’s not
Electoral college is today’s slavery
Clueless award en route. 📜Congrats.
You are a Moron…and the others who liked it. MSNBC page. Not surprised. Only LEFTISTS and Liberal Elites want to abandon the Electoral College. Forget it. It is literally a condition that states joined the union on and there is no way that is changing. Electoral College has never been MORE Relevant than now. We’re not letting the millions of kooks in NY and CA to decide our President.
@MrAitraining OP is foolish for comparing it to slavery, but I agree with Chris Hayes, both the Senate and the electoral college systems are antiquated and unfair.
Yes. The electoral college nullifies the citizenship of a majority of the U.S. population.
This should be required viewing for all Americans.
@Jow Bloe Leave any god out of this, it’s what the founders did. Otherwise you’re going to have to provide evidence, just saying.
@Dallas Dunston aww look folks it’s another right wing sissy boy talking tough on the Internet LMFAO! Does mommy know you are using her computer little boy?
@sfamerken12
Gotta stick up for Jow.
The god comment was just him relaying the things the Dallas kid has been saying to demonstrate just how foolish he sounds.
Otherwise I agree with ‘ya.
😉
@Jimmy Jazz
Yes Jimmy, not surprising Dallas is for trump. trump did say he was focusing on the low IQ!
@Joel Bizzell
Great comment Joel! The same thought went through my head about Dallas, he spends a lot if time in bars! I hope he gets help, he sure has an evil, angered side!
As our republic matured, we have made multiple changes to our Constitution. These are a mendments. This is a way to adjust our founding document to allow for changing conditions of our society and changing aditudes of our population. We are at that point with regard to the electoral college. Time to go.
Jeff Harnack
But that is no reason not to try. It’s worse! The threshold for ratification is not 2/3. Its 3/4. Yes, to change the constitution requires 2/3 of each house of Congress and the approval by 3/4 of 50 State Legislatures. 38 states.
@Bob Fischer there’s another way it can be done. I believe it’s called something like the interstate compact where several states have voted that, if enough states to make 270 electoral votes implement this system, then those states will throw their electoral votes to the winner of the national popular vote regardless of who won a majority in that specific state. Last I heard they were only a few states shy of having enough for 270.
If you ignore middle America, there going to say FU ! Now where did the food go Ca. N.Y.? If you don’t farm it you won’t have it. This is a bad move.
I think Chris Hayes just provided the facts that prove the electoral college is unconstitutional.
@Jeff Harnack – Replace the Population and you will see the US Constitution get flushed really fast. Everything created by the founders and the founders themself are now considered Racist and Criminals / Crime Against Humanity. What do you think will happen next, i mean Shortly?
This video explains why most people think “ my vote doesn’t matter “
@Drift Juice please still vote
Right!?
@Drift Juice You are wrong. Being from a small population state, your vote counts way more than a vote in California or Texas By population your state should only get 2 “electorals,” but instead you get twice that many. Wyoming with less population should get one “electoral” but gets three times that many. The smaller the state’s population, the more your vote counts.
Your presidential votes counts as two votes. A California vote counts as 1.04 votes.
You were right on. Many people don’t realize that the electoral college was a type if elitist institution basef on the prejudices of many of the founding fathers.
So your solution is to make 40 states irrelevant when it comes to choosing a president?
@Drew Oliver if it means the people of this country decide instead. Kinda ok with that.
@John Burnside The people didn’t elect Trump, the EC did.
hamilton had many such ‘ideas’, including that only landowners should vote. he was still a tory at heart.
I agree but to be fair, think of the time in which it was enacted. How much of the general population were actually educated? Education wasn’t mandatory for children. Did the general population know enough to know the consequences of their votes? I can understand a stopgap being made with that in mind.
This video is pretty amazing. Great job Chris!
It is. For one side of it.
Did he run it during the Obama administration?
*Argue with a Republican on this. Tell them that the electoral college nullifies the vote of Republicans in CA or NY. They won’t be able to answer you back.*
@Mark Haddox Explain yourself.
ObamaisnextLincoln, You DemocRATs would lose almost every close election without unlawful voters, and 9 Blue house seats in California Exist solely at a result of counting Crimmigrants as lawful citizens.
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2018/feb/26/lawsuit-100000-noncitizens-registered-vote-pa/
https://www.wsj.com/articles/do-illegal-votes-decide-elections-1480551000
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/trump-democrats-are-hiding-evidence-of-illegal-voting
The most recent, notable, and well documented example of the DemocRAT dependence on illegal votes Al Franken in 4 articles.
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/york-when-1-099-felons-vote-in-race-won-by-312-ballots
&
https://nypost.com/2012/08/07/was-al-franken-elected-by-1000-felons/
&
https://www.usnews.com/opinion/blogs/peter-roff/2010/07/20/al-franken-may-have-won-his-senate-seat-through-voter-fraud
&
https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052748704518904575365063352229680
True
@David Grover Poor child. You do realize that your moron of a Dear Leader literally created a committee to prove this lie, and they disbanded without proving anything… right?
I’ve calculated the 2016 results based on giving out the electoral votes on a proportional basis in each state instead of winner take all. Hillary would have gotten 256. Trump would have gotten 250. Others would have gotten 32. No one would have gotten a majority, but it would better reflect the national popular vote.
It is important to underscore just how out of whack things are in the Senate. Due to Senate rules for bringing bills to the floor, Mitch McConnell, who represents a state comprising something like 1.5% of the total US population, has the power to single-handedly block any and all legislation he chooses currently.
True. Very important. McConnell is hardly a spokesperson for democracy. It is pretty wacky, that such a person can be majority leader.
Bravo. That’s what all democracies (which means republics, constitutional monarchies, parliamental federations etc) do in the WORLD (except USA): one person, one vote.
Even younger 3th world poor countries do this way
Thank you for clarifying that a Republic is a form of democracy. Listening to the Republicans lie about this is like someone saying that chocolate ice cream isn’t ice cream because it’s chocolate (ice cream).
Hayes you do such a good communication that I stay to listen you more and more. Good job !!! What an important issue you shared today ¿ democracy?…is a lie!!
*1 person, 1 vote.*
That’s the way it should be done.
What if the majority are drunkards or drug addicts or perverts ? Or let’s say what if the majority are people that don’t want to work but collect a government check ? Or what if the majority or amen government compliant servants ? You are what is wrong what the United States of America and needs to be sorted out. You are the type of person that would turn on your family or neighbors the way the nazis or communists encouraged their followers to report on dissidents. You are a coward. You are lazy. You are envious of what other people have. That is socialism and communism in a nutshell. You are on the losing end of civilized history.
@Dallas Dunston
The *_-F***?-_*
Paragraphs kid. Didn’t even read the whole thing.
“WHAT IF WHAT IF”
Living in your own world of hypotheticals.
I’m trying to get that annoying hair off my screen. And even though I know it’s an image, I don’t like it on my screen.
@Dallas Dunston But how is the government able to select the people eligible to vote then? Do you want a government able to choose which individual can vote? Why would one district have more eligible voters? What if you live in a district which counts less? That would mean your vote would not count as much as some hobo that happens to live in another district. So it makes no sense what you say.
Republicans freak out whenever someone starts making sense.
They are threatened by reason, logic and simple fairness.
@Alan aka FANG You are describing the Senate. Your argument does not apply to the Presidency.
@B Babbich actually the discussion was about minorities, how silly of you to jump in and declare it is about something else.
@mafuletrekkie no I am describing a factual outcome possibility that causes a minority of states to determine who was President for all of the states that get to vote. My point is valid and is partly the reason why you have the electoral college. Stop trying to change the topic of the discussion to help you prove your point mate ✌️
The point raised to me was about a minority having the say nothing else. When in fact if you look at the facts it’s never that huge a difference in numbers to say a majority is being dismissed seeing the actual difference is only a few percentage points difference, which isn’t the case if 5 states got to decide using the popular vote against the other 46. But thanks for your unrelated input on the conversation. It’s not called the United States Of America for no reason. Hardly any unity in 5 states determining an outcome for 51, but of course that doesn’t suit your feelings now does it.
@Alan aka FANG No you just want to argue.
One person, one vote.
While I completely agree with the abolition of the Electoral College (it’s a position I’ve maintained for literally decades now), the probability of it happening is slim-to-none. Why? Because it requires a Constitutional Amendment, and the people needed to ratify the measure, a two-thirds majority in the Senate, are the very people least inclined to take such action…even though their constituency demands it.
The *National Popular Vote Interstate Compact* is our best chance of aligning the wishes of the Electorate (a.k.a. the popular vote) with the result of the Electoral College. That, and State- and Party-level Elector reforms; chiefly removing the ability for electors to defy the wishes of the people as evidenced by the popular vote.
A widely held misconception is that national elections are somehow “federalized”. They’re not. Every election across this land is the exclusive domain of the respective local or state jurisdiction, in compliance with all local, state and federal regulations, of course. This is how the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact is able to come into being. One state at a time.
In time, the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact will effectively render the Electoral College a useless vestige of a bygone era.
Chris, a follow-up story?
Thank you, John, I came to say the same thing. I think we have fifteen states +DC on line already; I hope those states where legislation is under way can quickly pass it to take us over 270 EC votes.
Interesting… a Gordian knot of sorts… hmm. ..
It’s not an unfounded fear but an irrefutable fact. Only the electoral college keeps the GOP alive and in power.
@RhondaH If voter fraud were that widespread someone would have video of it.
@Emsley Wyatt there are
@The Home Plate Special Not that I’ve ever seen. Got a link?
Emsley Wyatt
Plenty of links on voter suppression.
@g0679 Oh, here’s one.
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-votefraud-trump/avowed-trump-supporter-from-mexico-convicted-of-alien-voter-fraud-idUSKCN1VD2NY
This is by far one of the best representations of why we need to abolish the antiquated electoral college.
Of course Coastal LEFTISTS and Liberal Elites want to abandon the Electoral College. Forget it. It is literally a condition that states joined the union on and there is no way that is changing. Electoral College has never been MORE Relevant than now. NY and CA will not decide our President. But, dream on
@MrAitraining If the election were decided by popular vote NY and CA wouldn’t decide anything. NY and CA are states and wouldn’t vote, only PEOPLE would.
It is more important than ever.
Why,because he compared a fifth grade election to a general election?
@MrAitraining and Kentucky and Wyoming will?
AOC — We love you, keep up girl, the Country needs you <3
The Electoral College is a scam.
Only LEFTISTS and coastal liberals feel that way. Electoral College is staying. States are in the union based on this. CA and NY don’t represent the country and never will.
Thank you, Chris Hayes, for expositing the viewpoint of rational, normal people
I disagree on your use of the word viewpoint. Chris Hayes has exposed FACTS.