Deborah Said:

Should we take the voting process out of politicians hands?

We Answered:

Yes...The American voting process is a world joke

David Said:

what can we do to encourage voting? What do you think of the voting process?

We Answered:

if hooters catered the voting places there'd be a bigger voter turnout.

Marion Said:

Can someone please explain the voting process in an easy to understand manner?

We Answered:

You are talking about the Electoral College, which is only used for electing the President. All other federal elected offices are decided by a simple majority of the popular vote.

The founding fathers set up the Electoral College to create a buffer, or fail-safe, for the election of the President. This was primarily done because most people were poorly educated and because communication was very slow.

Today the Electoral College serves as a balancing mechanism to help prevent large states from having too much influence in electing the President. However, you could argue the Electoral College creates an unfair advantage by giving more power to each vote in small states than those in small states. Not to mention, the Electoral Collage allows for the election of a President who did not receive the majority of the public vote - this happened in the 2000 Presidential election.

The way the EC works is that each state gets a number of electors equal to the states number of senators (2) and members of Congress (at least 1), or the number they would have if they were a state in the case of Washington D.C. When you vote for the President, you are actually voting for the electors who will then cast their vote for the President.

In all states except Nebraska and Maine(?), the electors are awarded in a winner take all fashion - meaning the candidate with the most votes gets all of the states electors.

About six weeks after the election, the electors meet in the state's capitol to cast their vote for President. The job of an elector is largely ceremonial as they are chosen from loyal party members and they have pledged to vote for their party's candidate. The electors are not legally bound to vote for any particular candidate. However, there have only been a handful of "faithless" electors in the nation's history.

Guy Said:

What happens in the x factor voting process?

We Answered:

You put in the number and then you hear whoever you voted for's voice from a machine and that's it ! : ] Simple

Gerald Said:

Do you think the voting process is in need of an overhaul ?

We Answered:

It does need an overhaul. Somehow it needs to be streamlined and standardized.

But then, part of the congestion you see is people are turning out in droves to vote. With all the years of apathy and low turnout this is a turnaround that hopefully will set the standards for future elections. Now to just have the technology to handle it.