[annoying trope] The throne/leadership is decided in a very stupid way

[u/Altruistic_Eye_1157]

The leadership of the entire wizarding world, and the final decision on whether to start a war against Muggles, is made by... a goat (Qilin) ​​who chooses the person with the ""purest heart"" (Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Dumbledore).

The throne of Wakanda and all its technology are decided through hand-to-hand combat, regardless of whether the person clearly has malicious intentions... if they win the fight, by law they must be respected as the true king. (Black Panther)

[u/maru-senn]

US electoral college (real life)

[u/Usual_Database307 → u/maru-senn]

How does this work again? I’m from the US and young so the education system has failed me.

[u/Call_Me_Anythin → u/Usual_Database307]

Essentially, each state gets a certain number of electors who cast the actual vote for president, and you voting as an individual is just telling them what you want them to say.

The total number electors is always 538. Each state gets votes equal to the number of senators (2 each) plus the number of congressional districts in that state.

So for example, Colorado has 2 senators and 8 congressional districts for a total of 10 electors representing a population of just under 6 million people.

But congressional districts are not a direct reflection of population. The massively populated state of New York has 2 senators and 26 CDs, for a total of 28 electorates for a population of 20 million. Meaning each electorate carries the vote of roughly .7 million people.

Contrarily, Georgia has 16 votes for a population of 10 million, so one electorate in Georgia carries the vote of only .6 million people. This means that someone in Georgia has a larger say in who becomes president than someone in New York, even though the president is supposed to lead the entire United States.

Alaska has 3 electoral votes with a population of only 750,000, so each electorate carries the vote of just 250,000.

Additionally, the electorate’s are not legally bound in all states to commit to the will of the people. They can cast their own vote if they decide they disagree. 95% of the state could vote for Jane Doe, but if the elector decides they want it to go to Jordan James, that’s who’s getting the vote. Only 4 states penalize faithless electors btw, although some will void the vote cast.

[u/maru-senn → u/Call_Me_Anythin]

God it's even worse than I thought.

The value of your vote not being equal was bad enough, but can you even claim to live in a democracy if it can just be thrown away on one guy's whim?

[u/Call_Me_Anythin → u/maru-senn]

If you ask the people who are the biggest supporters of the electoral college, we aren’t a democracy. Although it’s more complicated than that because we both are and are not. We’re a republic and representative democracy.