January 3, 2012
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Understanding the US elections
The US elections has always got me confused. All the while I thought that the people, and I mean the people, not just representatives, would choose their president and vice president, only to realize that its representatives, called the electoral college, who decides who would lead this great symbol of democracy. Not so democratic for me, but then what is democracy.
Anyway, here is a wonderful video explaining how the system works:
Last night, the Iowa caucus began, signalling the start of the US's election frenzy. Many would wonder why Iowa, well this article explains it well: Why the Iowa Caucus Matters.
After Iowa, there's New Hampshire and so on and so forth. The caucus, is simply a meeting of registered voters who then declare which candidate they choose.This is a way for the parties to identify who they'll be fielding as their candidate. From what I understand, the caucus identifies the delegates to the national convention of the parties, these delegates are then the one's who will select the party's candidate. Other states would hold primaries, which is voting by ballot. This also helps them identify the delegate to send to the convention. Still not the election per se.
Come election day, everyone then gets to choose their President (the Vice President is already given, whoever the VP of the Presidential candidate is). But the votes cast is not totalled countrywide, but statewide. Watch the video to understand it better. Sure shed light on my confusion, at least a little.
(Source: Yahoo! News | Photo credit: Monsters and Critics |Video credits: Common Craft Show/leelefever on YouTube)
Comments (25)
*Sigh* I barely understand elections in my country
Oh man I live in the US and do not understand any of this crap that happened in Iowa tonight.
It is a bit confusing.
I was about to say that a lot of Americans don't even understand it
When the Electoral College was created, democracy was a new thing. Jefferson and Madison were not sure they could trust the public in a direct election -- you might have mob rule! Something like that.
But I think we need to get rid of it.
The Founders put the power in the hands of the people, but put the people at a distance from the government by checking and balancing that power.
The government is split into three branches that check and balance each other.
The reason for all this is to severely limit the abuse of power that is the natural tendency of government. If the electoral college is eliminated it will be a threat to liberty.
@xXxlovelylollipop - in my country its simple... on election day you vote, then its counted and the one who gets the most number of votes win hehehehe
@tribong_upos - same here but it's always tainted with distrustful and so many things that felt wrong :
@Grannys_Place - hehehehe i'm sure a lot of Americans are not aware that the election frenzy's began, except perhaps when the mudslinging begins in their state which would signal that either the primary or the caucus in their state is at hand...
@xXxlovelylollipop - we have a joke here... in the Philippines, no one losses... its either you win or you were cheated...
@firetyger - i'm sure it just takes time to understand
LOL here is kind'a the same everyone claims the other one was cheatting :
@godfatherofgreenbay - hahahaha i would believe that
@xXxlovelylollipop - hahahaha no one losses...
@tribong_upos - Yeah. I know it just kind of surprises people when they realize we're not a democracy in the sense that the people's vote alone determines who wins the presidency. Our founders realized the danger of a pure democracy, so they gave us a constitutional republic with checks and balances.
@we_deny_everything - some say that it is actually democracy in play... i think mob rule is democracy... its not actually mob with all its bad connotation, but mob in such a way that its the voice of the majority of the people... i guess politicians just want to make their life easier... easier to go to state to state rather than do a national campaign.,..
@sometimestheycomebackanyway - you have a point... but i'd say this makes life easier for politicians... this caucus and primary is actually already a form of campaigning and public relations thing...
@firetyger - i guess handling an election in such a huge country is difficult and national voting would equate to massive cheating...
@tribong_upos - The American government was set up to make life very difficult for politicians.
But the election process with political parties, primaries, caucuses evolved over time. Nevertheless, it is brutal and exceptionally difficult to campaign and get elected.
Romney has been around since forever. Newt Gingrich got started in the late 1970s, rose to power and then got kicked out because of scandal. Rick Santorum is a former Pennsylvania senator who got kicked out of office by the voters of his state.
@sometimestheycomebackanyway - :)
Election process in my country - stranger than fiction.
@RestlessButterfly - now Malaysia I am not familiar with... would you be similar with that of Singapore?
@tribong_upos - Quite similar with a lot of cheating and cheating and cheating.
@RestlessButterfly - hahahaha
hmmm could this be an Asian thing?
@tribong_upos - Or probably a world thingy as well.
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