Are You Out Of The Loop On The Popular Votes Argument?

The recent decision of the Democratic Party Rules and Bylaws Committee to allow the previously barred delegations of Michigan and Florida to be seated at this summer’s national convention but at half their original size is a somewhat imperfect compromise that actually left the situation of Clinton uncahnged.

This is the time however to attend to the other claim that Clinton and her supporters raise the claim that she got a majority of the popular votes. In fact this is a claim that has nothing to do with her ability to get the nomination.

I wouldn’t go as far as Judith Gayle on her attack of the argument, but her analysis of what actually happened in Michigan and Florida is quite accurate.

The “popular vote” argument is the most extreme example of Clinton campaign recklessness. The notion that Clinton has won the most “popular votes” is a meaningless metric from the start. Clinton people say Florida and Michigan Democrats shouldn’t be “penalized” for the errors of others, yet their argument punishes voters who stayed home in those states believing their votes wouldn’t count. And it “penalizes” Democrats in every single caucus state!

I would rather focus on the question are we counting every vote? Have we ever counted every vote? I don’t suggest that we ignore voter, no, what I basically say that in a system based on electorates and delegates, the popular votes are not effecting the elected candidate directly.

There were known presidents that were sworn to office with a minority of the popular votes because they had more electorates. This can happen and has happened due to the complex process of election by states and not directly for this or that candidate.

Is it reasonable to change the entire election system to a more direct one as in many European and Western countries? This is a very serious question that I suppose most people are not ready to really consider as it could influence the importance of the states as a mediating factor in all major federal decisions