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The "Free Election" Paradox:
With all of the complaints and worries regaring the United States Electoral system, most Americans miss that the implementation of their voting system is paradoxical in nature.
You don't vote for who you want to be President. You select from a wittled down list of candidates. This allows the following case to be true:
Candidate | Party Affiliation | Own Party Support | OverallSupport
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Candidate A Party X 40% 35%
Candidate B Party X 60% 19%
Candidate C Party Y 55% 25%
Candidate D Party Y 45% 21%
If an election were to be held listing all four names on the ticket, clearly Candidate A from Party X would be the elected. He has the highest overall support.
However, throw in a Primary and everything's fucked. Why? Because Candidate B beats Candidate A in party X's primaries. Candidate C beats Candidate D in party Y's primaries. The final ticket is now Candidate B vs Candidate C. As Candidate C has more overall support (understand I am simplifying this for GFY, there are a few more factors) he goes on to win the election.
With a primary system, Candidate C from Party Y is elected .. Even though in a truley "free election" .. Candidate A from Party X would be the elected winner.
Now here's my question: Shouldn't this fundamental flaw be more troubling than a few miss or not counted ballots in Florida?
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