America’s insane system of presidential election

By Al S. Mendoza

 

DID Joe Biden defeat Donald Trump in the United States presidential election on November 4 (PHL time)?

Umm. Lemme see.

Democrat Biden, the 77-year-old challenger, was leading Trump, 74, as we went to press.

Biden was enjoying a 253-213 lead over Trump, needing only 17 more to clinch the winning 270 votes.

Only five of the 50 states of America are not yet done counting their votes.

One of them was Arizona, a key cog to Biden’s much anticipated victory.

Also still tabulating their votes as we went to press were Georgia, North Carolina, Nevada and Pennsylvania.

But even as the final tally remained unresolved, Trump was mulling filing election protests in Michigan, Pennsylvania and Georgia.

Trump has also accused the Biden camp of “stealing the election.”

The whole world knows that Trump has this knack to stir up controversies in his four-year reign at the White House since 2016.

He loves to lie, too.

American Professor Allan Lichtman said he heard Trump lying an average of 1,500 times a year.

When Trump first saw himself behind Biden in the counting, he wanted to stop the tabulation.

Next, he demanded a recount of the votes.

Both requests were immediately rejected for lack of merit.

Unique, but America has the so-called Electoral College that ultimately elects the US President.

The popular voting precedes the electoral voting done by members of the Electoral College voted by the people.

They emanate from the Republican and Democratic camps, who pick their choice along usually party lines.

The 538 electoral votes are chosen in proportion to the population of each of the 50 states, including the District of Columbia.

Actually, America’s election system is a bit weird, if not crazy, because the winner from the people’s votes is not assured of victory.

In 2016, Hillary Clinton beat Trump by more than three million people’s votes but Trump eventually won with a 304-227 electoral vote score over Clinton.

In 2000, my tocayo Al Gore, a Democrat, won the people’s votes but lost the electoral votes to George W. Bush by 271-266.

Insane, but it has been that way in America for more than 200 years, with similar results happening in 1824, 1876 and 1888.

Americans are insanely conservative.

What their ancestors had begun, they consider it practically untouchable, unchangeable.

To them, it is almost sacred.  A work of God, if not the gods.

Now, did our two million Filipinos in America vote?

Maybe yes, maybe no.

But, traditionally, only about 50 percent of Fil-Ams cast their ballots every four years.

And, when they do vote, issues play second fiddle to the candidate’s persona, charisma.

The son of my sister living in New York voted for Trump.

“He is funny,” he said.

The sister of my wife living in Los Angeles didn’t vote.

“Katamad (I’m too lazy),” she said.

Yet, her hubby is a card-carrying Republican election volunteer.

My wife’s brother living in San Francisco voted for Trump.

“He supplies my maintenance meds,” he said.

Me?

Lose liar.

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