November 1st, 2004

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Politics
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Global Vote Ends Predictably

As Troy points out, the folks at Global Vote 2004 had a clever idea. They ran a site that encouraged people from around the world to choose who to vote for. They specified what country they were from, and chose a candidate. Globally, it was 77% for Kerry, and 9% for Bush. In light of the current president’s foreign policy (and my conversations with Europeans), this isn’t the least bit surprising. Of course, this is a deeply unscientific process, and they didn’t get enough voters (only about 110,000), but it hightlights Bush’s infamy outside of the US.

By the way, how can Ralph Nader have the audacity to run for president? The polls have Kerry and Bush in a dead heat. Once again, Nader may be the determining factor regarding who gets into the Whitehouse. And while I’m at it, you Yanks need to take Clive Thompson’s advice and move to a popular vote. Everyone knows it, but I’ll say it anyway: this electoral college system is fraught with bogosity.

Comments: 4 Responses so far

Jeremy C. Wright
November 1st, 2004
10:44 am

Any system where you only need 27% of the popular vote to win is completely flawed and utterly ridiculous.

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'nee
November 1st, 2004
6:03 pm

I am totally going to use the word “bogosity.”

The electoral voting procedure is so terribly outdated that it’s not even funny. It’s not like they have a parliamentary system with local representation; they vote for their representatives separately, so there’s no reason for the presidential vote to be regionalized, no reason whatsoever. In the day and age where communication is instantaneous, the electoral college is just residue that has outlived its practical purpose. Unfortunately, constitution worship basically ensures that there will be no electoral reform in America for at least 20-50 years.

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Rog
November 1st, 2004
9:43 pm

From all accounts, Nader dislikes both of his opponents equally and he has a huge ego that’s being fed by talk about how he affects the election.

I used to think Nader was kinda cool (comparatively), now I think he’s just an ass.

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Richard
November 1st, 2004
11:54 pm

For a contrarian viewpoint, see Walter Dellinger’s article defending the electoral college in Slate. He points out that while we Canadians mock the American electoral system, it’s not like ours is any better.

Oh, and last time I checked, only Americans are allowed to vote in the American election. It’s interesting that the world would vote overwhelmingly against Bush, but it’s also irrelevant.

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