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Ah, the U.S. presidential election system: a delightful carnival of confusion where the winner is often decided by a small band of electors, not the eager 330 million voters, who are forced to watch the electoral slapstick from the sidelines. Think of it as Democracy’s version of that unfortunate party where everyone brings a potato salad, but only a few get to pick who wins the Best Potato Salad award.
Those noble Founding Fathers, with their wigs and their tea parties, envisioned a grand debate amongst electors — picture Hamilton and Jefferson in a rap battle over who gets to be President. But alas, it turns out the electors today are just glorified votes with no more say than a rubber stamp in a bureaucratic office. They fetch coffee and are told to sit quietly while the state laws dictate their every move. How quaint!
Fast forward to today, and you’ve got Carolyn Dupont, the history professor with a book titled “Distorting Democracy.” It sounds like a self-help book for the confused — a little therapy for that awkward Electoral College that got invited to the party but wasn’t even supposed to be there. As her research indicates, the idea of electors making a heady choice has all but evaporated. They might as well be handing out participation trophies while being daily reminded not to think for themselves.
In the grand tradition of political drama, our electoral colleagues tried to update the rules back in 1969 — picture a bunch of politicians clutching their schematics while others filibuster like it was the Great American Bake-Off. Spoiler alert: nothing changed. And now, as the November election looms, get ready for what could be the third time in twenty-five years that someone who didn’t win the public vote saunters into the Oval Office. Oh, the hilarity!
One can only imagine what Jefferson and Madison would say today. You’d think they’d be on Twitter tweeting about how the good ol’ days weren’t so great after all. They might even find themselves agreeing that, you know, every vote should count equally. But then again, who are we kidding? Racial demographics dictated back in the day meant some votes counted less — and those are the ghosts that still hang around this electoral comedy club we call a system.
Instead of moving toward a refreshing National Popular Vote, where every citizen’s voice is treated like it matters (imagine that absurdity!), we’re still trapped in a skewed system that lets the less popular pull the strings while everyone else stands by, popcorn in hand, laughter bubbling under their breath.
So, as we gear up for the election and the inevitable “What’s wrong with our system?” outcry, let’s just sit back and wait for those crying games to commence. Because if politics is all about people, then we’ve got a comedy of errors that’s only just beginning to unravel.
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