Honolulu Star-Advertiser

Sunday, November 3, 2024 83° Today's Paper


What do you think of the Electoral College?

  • B. Eliminate; let popular vote prevail (832 Votes)
  • A. Working OK; keep (723 Votes)
  • C. What's that? (34 Votes)

This is not a scientific poll — results reflect only the opinions of those voting.

45 responses to “What do you think of the Electoral College?”

  1. sandi2000 says:

    Like the House of Representatives, the electoral college prevents the large states like California, Texas, NY, etc. from domination. In this case, the presidential elections. Most people, I believe, do not understand the function nor the purpose of the electoral college.

  2. sarge22 says:

    HiLIARy lost fair and square. Stop making excuses.

    • Boots says:

      Now you republicans will have to stop making excuses for not doing anything. lol Enjoy your corrupt candidate full of conflicts of interests. Such a fine example of republicanism.

      • nalogirl says:

        It sounds like you are talking about Hillary. She was corruption at its finest when we got to look at the inner workings of the DNC and the Clinton campaign. Clinton was a pay to play, money for the Clinton Foundation and you get a meeting with the secretary of state, private illegal server, transmitting confidential information, calling half of Americans Deplorables. She would have been of president for her own self interest. Trump made his money by building stuff, not by asking for “donations” to a personal slush fund. January 20, 2017 will be a breath of fresh air.

      • cajaybird says:

        Another great example of your bizarro world where the truth is opposite of your comment. Boots, I suggest you carefully read nalogorl’s comment. Read it a few times. Your “sweet Hillary” screwed up.

  3. Christopher_murp says:

    Popular vote would mean the largest 20 cities or so would control who the president is. The effect would be the complete disregard of everyone else as their votes would not be necessary for a win. I think a lot of people need to be educated regarding the electoral college prior to making a determination such as this. Examples abound in regards to polls where people agree that banning CO2 or H20 is necessary. Heck, Governor Moonbeam is even regulating methane emissions on farms now instead of addressing runaway budgets and businesses leaving California for greener pastures.

  4. keonimay says:

    Every state, has an equal chance, rather than a few states, determining the outcome of a presidential election.

    If it just came down to, the aggregate total of all states combined, without individual state wins, then the presidential outcomes would be different.

  5. deepdiver311 says:

    and this poll indicates the ignorance of the hawai’i democrats who will always be on the plantation mentality
    auwe

  6. Kalaheo1 says:

    The electoral college is a brilliant creation that has the added benefit of making cheating much harder.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V6s7jB6-GoU

  7. Lanaiboy says:

    I would think that a small state (population-wise) such as Hawaii would strongly support the electoral college. The founding fathers believed that the “tyranny of the majority” is a real problem in a pure democracy, where the majority prevails absolutely and the minority has to just “lump” it. The existence of the Senate wherein a Rhode Island has just as many senators as California is the major example of such protections for small states. Granted, over the course of US history, there has been a strong movement towards a pure democracy, but reservations about such a situation—the existence of the Bill of Rights is a major example—to protects minority interests in the US Constitution still applies today as it did at this country’s founding. Hawaii would be a huge loser in a pure democracy. Presidential candidates would spend 90 percent of their time in the coastal states such as New York and California and most almost none in Alaska, Hawaii, and “flyover” country. A powerful Daniel Inouye would not be possible.

    • kuroiwaj says:

      IRT LanaiBoy, fully agree with your post. Can’t understand why democrats cannot understand the U.S. very special system of Senate and Presidential elections and including also the election of Representatives.

      • cajaybird says:

        Agree, agree, agree. I wonder where the voice of reason will come from in Hawaii. Republican candidates need to speak up now for the next election. It is hard to believe the outcome of the poll.

    • keaukaha says:

      Realistically nobody’s vote west of the Mississippi River mattered. The election was over after Florida, Norh Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Ohio was called. When more than two and half million votes don’t matter something is seriously wrong with how we elect our PE. If there was ever a revolt I would much rather be on the side of the popular vote. Only an idi-t would think otherwise.

  8. ALLDUNN says:

    If the popular vote was used, the only people who would elect the politicians would be the ones in the large urban areas who are on government assistance and want to keep it the way it is instead of go to work. The democrats make sure the public housing is full and government giveaways are easy to get. Democrats have the perfect voter farm and keep adding to it.

  9. Bdpapa says:

    The electoral system is working, leave it alone!

  10. inlanikai says:

    Interesting that the majority of the poll by the people of this state with the worst voter turnout thinks that the one constitutional provision that insures small states have a voice should be eliminated.

  11. maile77 says:

    sandi2000…you are correct. It will give the states with the most population more advantage over the little guys. The places with the least amount of people,(smaller cities, rural areas, etc) will not matter much

  12. bluebowl says:

    You learn about the electoral collage in high school, or before! So far 446 haven’t graduated!

    • cajaybird says:

      I was going to post that we learned about the Electoral College in high school as well. Every politician knows the genius of the system, including every Democrat. The current fiasco is simply trying to promote more havoc and try to position Trump’s win as being illegitimate. This morning I see actors on TV who produced an ad asking the Electors to change their vote. I doubt the actors realize that they’re being used. And can you imagine what students today are being told about the Electoral college.

  13. Buckykat says:

    Cheating is so much easier, with the popular vote where you just have to select a couple of cities in which to cheat. With the electoral college no matter what the overvote (more votes submitted than registered voters)is in Detroit, Michigan only provides a set number of electoral votes based on population. We need to get back to teaching the constitution in Civics classes.

  14. Lana888 says:

    Hey, Star-Advertiser, how about doing a story on what the REAL purpose of the Electoral College was? So many people wrongly think it was to protect smaller-population states from being dominated by larger-population states. Not so–that is what the SENATE is for. The Electoral College was meant to prevent someone completely unqualified and unscrupulous from becoming President, like–mentioning no names, you can fill in the blank. The Founding Fathers did not anticipate the winner-take-all power grab that later became how the states warped the Electoral College. Everyone’s vote for President should count equally.

  15. ehowzit says:

    I FOUND THAT IT WAS HILLARY-OUS THAT A RECOUNT IN TWO STATES ACTUALLY GAVE TRUMP MORE VOTES THAN THE ORIGINAL COUNT, THEREBY, TRUMPING HER HOPES OF GAINING VIA THE POPULAR VOTE METHOD.

  16. atilter says:

    if the ELECTORAL COLLEGE was ever eliminated, small states like Hawaii can kiss their votes goodbye. regardless of whichever way the voters go via their popular votes, the larger states like California would have almost automatic and guaranteed power to control the voting outcome due to their sheer overwhelming number. the ELECTORAL COLLEGE was conceived by the Founding Fathers to eliminate that possibility. does anybody understand that??? if they did or claim they do, why would anyone want to totally give away the power of their vote by eliminating the ELECTORAL COLLEGE? pure illogical incoherence, ignorance, and mythological fantasy? or stupidity? why? this question needs to be addressed by those who want to eliminate the ELECTORAL COLLEGE! let the spinning wheel turn!

    • Wazdat says:

      Clueless DEMS who are mad.

    • Lana888 says:

      So many people wrongly think the idea of the Electoral College was to protect smaller-population states from being dominated by larger-population states. Not so–that is what the SENATE is for. The Electoral College was meant to prevent someone completely unqualified and unscrupulous from becoming President, like–mentioning no names, you can fill in the blank. The Founding Fathers did not anticipate the winner-take-all power grab that later became how the states warped the Electoral College. Everyone’s vote for President should count equally. Yes, it IS broke.

      Reply

      • keaukaha says:

        Lana888 you have submitted the most intelligent comment so far. Hawaiis four electoral votes are as significant as a pimple on an elephants as-. You really want your vote to count? Move to a state east of the Mississippi River. Mainly Florida, North Carolina, Virginia, Pennsylvania or Ohio.

  17. cojef says:

    It ain’t broke, so leave it be!

  18. yhls says:

    If only we could settle this debate the way soccer fans do. Fanatical left-wing liberals on one side; everybody else, regardless of political party, on the other side. Winner take all.

  19. wiliki says:

    It’s an archaic institution.

  20. 64hoo says:

    the reason the forefathers in 1776 made the electro system is because no one big state can decide the election it is to give all other smaller states to have a say in who becomes president, doing a popular vote would lead to fraud. take for instance on this mornings news 43 prescients in Detroit came in and said there was more votes in the election than there was registration voters, which means there was voter fraud, if I was trump I would make all 50 states do an audit on every person who voted I bet you will find almost 5 million illegal voters from across all 50 states voted for Hillary and if they did find that many illegal voters who voted take away there votes and trump wins the popular vote by 2 1/2 million votes.

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