alternate electoral college

[dougrhess]

Not sure where to place this question, but as a compromise, what would people think of simply removing two votes from each state, and DC, E.C. vote total? It would certainly make the proportion of the population of states and proportion of EC votes per state closer to a ratio of 1 (although not entirely since states will still get a least one EC vote no matter how small they are which introduces some advantage to thiny states).

This has probably been mentioned before, but I wasn't sure how to search for it. I thought there was an EC forum, but I didn't see it now...maybe been reorganized?

[minionofmidas]

Problem is...
the current EV#s two main problems sort of cancel each other out (well, not quite, we actually did some mathematical work on it a while ago, I forget what it was exactly, but they counterbalance each other.)
The two extra EVs give added weight to small states.
The whole winner-take-all thing gives extra weight to large states.

[dougrhess]

Can say more about this balancing out? I guess the winner take all thing is a state choice, but I hadn't thought about what its implications are for various fairness interpretations. I had seen the two problems with the EC as 1. two votes for each state auto, like senators, 2. one more vote for each state automatically, like with representatives. Each presents its own problem, but it's not worth considering keeping the EC is some states are given 0 votes in it, so I just tossed out the first problem.

How does winner take all balance and what does it balance?

[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

Under the winner take all system in 2004, it was possible to win the presidency by winning in just the 11 largest states.



If you took out the two EV's per state from Senators, it would be possible to win by wininng just the 8 largest states plus any one of the 9 next largest States

[dougrhess]

Ernie: ( I may call you Ernie, might I?)

Interesting. Thanks! Not sure that it makes the alternate more or less fair as it depends on what we mean by fair. (E.g., if you can take a diverse set of large states you likely were popular across the nation and thus likely had the majority or plurality vote.)

[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

Ernie: ( I may call you Ernie, might I?)

Do I look like I have fuzzy cloth skin and a hand stuck up my butt?