Questions for our American friends - Page 93

**knobby109** · October 14th, 2012, 08:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by palo5

How do you win an election "fairly" with fewer votes?

It has happened many times in the UK because of the way that constituencies work.
A parallel would be in a tennis match which goes 7-5, 7-5,0-6 ,0-6 and 7-5 where the first player wins the match although only winning 21 games to the loser's 27. It's about distribution.

**deepsepia** · October 14th, 2012, 10:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by palo5

How do you win an election "fairly" with fewer votes?

The President is elected by the 538 electors of Electoral College, not directly by the voters.

Almost all states are "winner take all" with respect to their electoral votes.

So if you have a very close state, where the popular vote is %50.1 for Candidate A, and %49.9 for Candidate B . . . %100 of the Electoral votes go to Candidate A.

You see that there are many configurations where one candidate gets huge majorities in a few states -- but then loses a bunch of states very narrows. He can end up with more popular votes, but fewer electoral votes.

So when I vote, my vote is actually "electing" a slate of Electors bound to my preferred candidate -- I'm not voting directly for him.

You might ask: "why such a clunky system"?

A lot of it was the mechanics of elections in the 18th century . . . its hardly modern.

royalphoenix · October 14th, 2012, 11:11 PM

Good point. Lincoln didn't receive 40% of the popular vote when he was first elected president.

**DTravel** · October 14th, 2012, 11:59 PM

Something to keep in mind is that the Electoral Delegates are not necessarily required to vote for the candidate that won in their state. Depending that state's laws they can completely ignore the popular vote. That's unlikely to happen but it is theoretically possible.

**tygrkhat40** · October 15th, 2012, 01:17 PM

In my state, New York, our electoral votes are already decided, they're going to Obama. So everyone in NY could vote for Romney and he'd win the state on Election Day. But on the day the Electoral College votes, Obama wins New York.

**lothian** · October 15th, 2012, 08:30 PM

I've recently been watching American guns and Sons of guns on Discovery and have seen ordinary citizens arm themselves with everything from assault rifles to grenade launchers , anti tank rockets , flame throwers , recoilless rifles mounted on jeeps and unbelievably fully automatic heavy machine guns mounted on a helicopter . i know it varies from to state to state but is this true ? can Joe public really own and be allowed to use this stuff ?

**bombermouse** · October 15th, 2012, 11:43 PM

There are a lot of states where automatic weapons of some sort or another are legal. I'm not positive but I believe antitank rifles, flame throwers, recoilless rifles and heavy machine guns are not legal for the general public.

Quote:

Originally Posted by lothian

I've recently been watching American guns and Sons of guns on Discovery and have seen ordinary citizens arm themselves with everything from assault rifles to grenade launchers , anti tank rockets , flame throwers , recoilless rifles mounted on jeeps and unbelievably fully automatic heavy machine guns mounted on a helicopter . i know it varies from to state to state but is this true ? can Joe public really own and be allowed to use this stuff ?

**theequestrian** · October 15th, 2012, 11:49 PM

No. That's just TV bullshit. I live in Georgia which has some of the most liberal gun laws in the US, and even we can't mount rocket launchers on our pickups or walk into the grocery store toting a browning sub-machine gun.

**9876543210** · October 16th, 2012, 01:02 AM

lothian,

Quote:

Originally Posted by lothian

I've recently been watching American guns and Sons of guns on Discovery and have seen ordinary citizens arm themselves with everything from assault rifles to grenade launchers , anti tank rockets , flame throwers , recoilless rifles mounted on jeeps and unbelievably fully automatic heavy machine guns mounted on a helicopter . i know it varies from to state to state but is this true ? can Joe public really own and be allowed to use this stuff ?

I think it depends on which state you live in. I've seen one of those shows and I think its based in Louisiana (one of the reddest states in the US). I've seen exactly what you're talking about and can only conclude that Louisiana must allow people to own at least some of those weapons you mentioned. I know I've seen them working on and firing 50 cal. machine guns for people so maybe its legal to have such a thing there. Do we have any members from Louisiana here?

In my state, as far as I know, any automatic weapon is illegal. And I can't imagine the rest are legal either. But laws in some states have changed a lot over the last few years.

**DTravel** · October 16th, 2012, 03:54 AM

Even in the states where it is legal to have some of these heavy weapons you require a special license.

October 14th, 2012, 11:59 PM	#924
DTravel Lean Mean Screencap Machine Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Better you don't know. Posts: 23,807 Thanks: 10,480 Thanked 207,337 Times in 23,716 Posts	Something to keep in mind is that the Electoral Delegates are not necessarily required to vote for the candidate that won in their state. Depending that state's laws they can completely ignore the popular vote. That's unlikely to happen but it is theoretically possible. __________________ To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. I rage and weep for my country. To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. I can reup screencaps, other material might have been lost.

October 15th, 2012, 01:17 PM	#925
tygrkhat40 Long Suffering Bills Fan Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: The City of Good Neighbors Posts: 9,669 Thanks: 304,243 Thanked 152,528 Times in 9,629 Posts	In my state, New York, our electoral votes are already decided, they're going to Obama. So everyone in NY could vote for Romney and he'd win the state on Election Day. But on the day the Electoral College votes, Obama wins New York. __________________ To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

October 15th, 2012, 11:49 PM	#928
theequestrian Vintage Member Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: A hop, skip & a jump from Daytona Beach, Florida Posts: 1,177 Thanks: 4,807 Thanked 11,707 Times in 1,156 Posts	No. That's just TV bullshit. I live in Georgia which has some of the most liberal gun laws in the US, and even we can't mount rocket launchers on our pickups or walk into the grocery store toting a browning sub-machine gun. __________________ 'If we could read each others minds, we'd all sleep with loaded guns' -theequestrian

October 16th, 2012, 03:54 AM	#930
DTravel Lean Mean Screencap Machine Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Better you don't know. Posts: 23,807 Thanks: 10,480 Thanked 207,337 Times in 23,716 Posts	Even in the states where it is legal to have some of these heavy weapons you require a special license. __________________ To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. I rage and weep for my country. To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. I can reup screencaps, other material might have been lost.

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October 14th, 2012, 11:11 PM	#923
royalphoenix Member Join Date: Aug 2010 Posts: 35 Thanks: 1,292 Thanked 281 Times in 33 Posts	Good point. Lincoln didn't receive 40% of the popular vote when he was first elected president.

October 15th, 2012, 08:30 PM	#926
lothian Vintage Member Join Date: Sep 2011 Location: Edinburgh Scotland Posts: 706 Thanks: 7,330 Thanked 9,841 Times in 704 Posts	I've recently been watching American guns and Sons of guns on Discovery and have seen ordinary citizens arm themselves with everything from assault rifles to grenade launchers , anti tank rockets , flame throwers , recoilless rifles mounted on jeeps and unbelievably fully automatic heavy machine guns mounted on a helicopter . i know it varies from to state to state but is this true ? can Joe public really own and be allowed to use this stuff ?