From: garym@mcgath.com   
      
   On 8/10/24 2:31 PM, Cryptoengineer wrote:   
      
   > That said, the notion that the power of the franchise maybe shouldn't   
   > be evenly distributed is a long standing one. Universal franchise in   
   > the US is only about 100 years old, and even Heinlein proposed such   
   > in Starship Troopers.   
   >   
   > Even today, the Electoral College gives residents of some states   
   > much more electoral power than others. A Wyoming voter's vote counts   
   > more than 3x as much as Californian's in electing a President.   
      
   If electoral votes were allocated strictly according to population, the   
   cities would control the elections. There is a benefit to having a   
   regional factor as well as a population factor in making sure no single   
   demographic, even a majority, controls the election.   
      
   That said, the more basic problem is that the current political system   
   gives an outrageous amount of power to the president. Congress largely   
   does what the president says whenever the majority of Congress comes   
   from the same party as the president. This wasn't the intent of the   
   Constitution, and it isn't a good idea. If the president had less power,   
   those who didn't vote for the winner would be less disenfranchised.   
      
   --   
   Gary McGath    http://www.mcgath.com   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)