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Why is there an age requirement to be President?
http://www.ferrousmoon.com:80/forums/viewtopic.php?f=55&t=1568		 Page 2 of 2
Author:  FinalWarrior [Sun Nov 09, 2008 8:16 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Why is there an age requirement to be President?
Quote:
Your vote does matter, as state low dictates that the members of the electoral college must vote whichever direction the popular vote went.
Did you pay attention at all to the 2000 election? The one where Al Gore won the popular but lost the electoral? If the electoral votes went the way the popular vote did, then 2000-2004 would have been slightly different.

The problem with the electoral college is that, while in theory the votes should go the way the popular does, it practice it doesn't. AFAIK, there is absolutely no incentive for an electoral voter to vote the same way as their constituents, and no punishment for an electoral voter who votes against his/her constituents. So really, it's an honor system, and honor systems don't work when it comes to politicians (also lawyers).

So no, state law doesn't dictate that the members of the electoral college must vote whichever direction the popular vote went (at least, there's no state law that I know of that dictates that, and not all states have the same state laws).

-- Griffinhart

PS. And the 2000 election wasn't the only one where someone won the popular but lost the electoral. You should've learned all this back in your US History and Government classes. :P
Author:  Rickton [Sun Nov 09, 2008 8:39 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Why is there an age requirement to be President?
Quote:
Quote:
Your vote does matter, as state low dictates that the members of the electoral college must vote whichever direction the popular vote went.
Did you pay attention at all to the 2000 election? The one where Al Gore won the popular but lost the electoral? If the electoral votes went the way the popular vote did, then 2000-2004 would have been slightly different.
Well, not exactly. The electoral votes are an all-or-nothing basis, which tends to screw things up. Also, they are not entirely evenly distributed across the population; there's a minimum number of electoral votes a state can have, regardless of the population.
So if the entirety of the tiny states voted red, and if 49% of the population every multiple-vote red state was voting blue, there could still be more popular votes for blue even though red won the electoral.

Did that make sense? :?
Author:  Tycho [Sun Nov 09, 2008 8:45 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Why is there an age requirement to be President?
Quote:
The electoral votes are an all-or-nothing basis, which tends to screw things up.
The "winner take all" rule is a matter of state law. It is not required by the U.S. constitution. In fact, Maine and Nebraska have changed to a proportional system for allocating their electoral college votes.
Author:  Miah [Sun Nov 09, 2008 9:11 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Why is there an age requirement to be President?
By the way, for those wondering, the number of electoral votes a state gets is based on the legislator.

Senate seats (always 2) plus Members of the House.

If your seat holds 7 seats, you have 9 electoral votes. If the electoral college fails (in a two party system, this can only happen via a tie), the house and senate would vote.

I think that's the case, anyway.
Author:  Rickton [Sun Nov 09, 2008 9:20 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Why is there an age requirement to be President?
Quote:
Quote:
The electoral votes are an all-or-nothing basis, which tends to screw things up.
The "winner take all" rule is a matter of state law. It is not required by the U.S. constitution. In fact, Maine and Nebraska have changed to a proportional system for allocating their electoral college votes.
OK, yeah, I was gonna mention that some don't do it, but decided not to because that'd only make my too-complicated post even more complicated. But whatever.
For the most part the states do winner-take-all, which enables situations like the one I described.
Author:  FinalWarrior [Sun Nov 09, 2008 10:43 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Why is there an age requirement to be President?
And one of the reasons why the electoral college is broken is because of that "winner-take-all" system. Proportional votes would work so much better. 'Course, the federal government won't make a law on this because the states prefer their autonomy.

-- Griffinhart
Author:  Rickton [Sun Nov 09, 2008 10:57 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Why is there an age requirement to be President?
Quote:
And one of the reasons why the electoral college is broken is because of that "winner-take-all" system. Proportional votes would work so much better. 'Course, the federal government won't make a law on this because the states prefer their autonomy.

-- Griffinhart
Also it threatens the superiority of the Two. Shockhorror, imagine if a 3rd party candidate actually managed to get an electoral vote. People might start thinking they could win!
Author:  Miah [Mon Nov 10, 2008 9:34 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Why is there an age requirement to be President?
Most states wouldn't do it anyway. If it's a typically blue state, then they wouldn't want to give up electoral votes for the GOP. Likewise, if it's a typically red state, then they wouldn't want to give up electoral votes for the Democratic party.

It's a lot less against third parties, and more looking out for number one. The block of the third party candidates is just an added bonus.
Author:  Frostysbite [Tue Dec 30, 2008 5:36 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Why is there an age requirement to be President?
>.< it must be later than i thought for me to find a serious topic here.. anyways onto my opinion. I think that the age bar for presidency should be raised, to reflect the increase in life expectancy. Perhaps to around the age of 40... this coming out of the mouth of someone who's still "Technically a teenager". Anyway my humble opinion.
Author:  Miah [Tue Dec 30, 2008 11:16 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Why is there an age requirement to be President?
Considering that the youngest person to become president (T. Roosevelt) was 42, I don't think you have much to worry over :3
Author:  Rickton [Tue Dec 30, 2008 12:18 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Why is there an age requirement to be President?
To raise the age requirement they'd have to amend the Constitution, which is pretty hard. Going through the whole process of amending the entire Constitution just to add another 5 years to the age requirement seems like a waste of time.
Author:  Frostysbite [Tue Dec 30, 2008 11:43 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Why is there an age requirement to be President?
Quote:
To raise the age requirement they'd have to amend the Constitution, which is pretty hard. Going through the whole process of amending the entire Constitution just to add another 5 years to the age requirement seems like a waste of time.
Wasn't the question not about wither it was possible but rather if it should be done, or rather what our opinion was?
Edit: OK so i'm apparently not all here. the question wasn't about opinion but about why there was an age requirement at all...
Author:  master2004134 [Thu Jan 01, 2009 1:35 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Why is there an age requirement to be President?
I think Miah answered that question...imagine an 18 year old with all the power of the nation. A bit overwhelming, don't you think? I agree with the age requirement, as most people by that age have completed their education and contributed something to their own communities.
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