Green Canidates on the ballot in several states...

[Nephew Twiddleton]

America has a very long and drawn out election cycle. If youre a sitting president you have to start up your reelection campaign halfway through your administration. It might not officially begin but you have to start prepping then instead of... Oh i dunno being president. We also have the midterm elections which are a barometer since were all impatient bastards. Whoever dominates halfway through a presidents term is seen as either a rebuke or an endorsement.

[Placid Dingo]

OK, got it.

So in the second vote, you're not constrained to voting in any particular way are you? You can vote for anyone you like, even if you're registered as a particular party member.

[Nephew Twiddleton]

Exactly. I can now vote for whoever is on the ballot or write in. But in the primary its totally along party lines. If the greens do not have party status i am an independent and can coose which party i want to throw in for i the short term. But i am not obligated to vote for the same guy in the final election.

[Nephew Twiddleton]

This primary i wrote in vermin supreme for the democratic party which he was running under even though hes an anarchist. In november i will be voting for stein who is the green candidate even though i am free to vote for romney or obama.

[Placid Dingo]

This primary i wrote in vermin supreme for the democratic party which he was running under even though hes an anarchist. In november i will be voting for stein who is the green candidate even though i am free to vote for romney or obama.

What I've seen of him is fantastic. He's actually one of the good folk following 'Chasing Eris' on FB, which was a huge buzz to see.

[AFK]

Last week romney officially became the republican candidate in the general election. This week obama became the official dem candidate. Even though we knew months ago that it would be romney and obama (and with the greens stein was a favorite as well). So this is a separating the wheat from the chaff and then rallying as a party behind one candidate. Now that we know all the players we get to select from that pool in november.

And how depressing is that?  I'll probably end up voting for Obama, but it certainly isn't going to be with any level of enthusiasm. 

[Placid Dingo]

 if I vote green in your system, and they don't win, does my vote transfer or dissapear?

[AFK]

Well, it doesn't transfer, but I wouldn't say it disappears either, it will be reflected in the final tally for the green candidate.  But it doesn't pass along to Obama, or Romney, or Johnson, or whoever else is running.

[Placid Dingo]

Ok.

In our system, after primary votes are counted, if nobody has a clear majority, the smallest vote collection are redistributed until there is a clear winner.

[East Coast Hustle]

This is where someone with more patience than me tries to explain to you the shitshow we call "the electoral college".

Our presidents are not, in fact, elected by popular vote at all even though great pains are taken to make it seem that way.

[The Good Reverend Roger]

if I vote green in your system, and they don't win, does my vote transfer or dissapear?

It disappears in our system.

This is why Duverger's Law works.

[Nephew Twiddleton]

This is where someone with more patience than me tries to explain to you the shitshow we call "the electoral college".

Our presidents are not, in fact, elected by popular vote at all even though great pains are taken to make it seem that way.

The votes for the Green candidate end up basically not counting for anything. Some states split their electoral votes, like Maine and Nebraska, but for most of them it's a winner take all situation. And of course, some states are predictably going to go one particular way, except in weird elections like where Nixon got 49 states. So, normally, it's a waste of time to vote. My family says I'm throwing away my vote because they're still under the illusion that the popular vote actually means something at a national level. What I'm actually doing is supporting my party. MA is going to go to Obama. Romney's not even really campaigning here, and he was Governor here. Any one in MA who votes for Romney is wasting their time. Anyone who votes for Obama in MA is doing the same, except that someone's gotta do it anyway.

Conversely, Democrats in Texas are wasting their time. Romney's going to win there. Really the President of the US is chosen by a small handful of swing states, based on how 51+% of their population voted. Generally the person who wins the most electoral votes also wins the popular vote, but not always. Just ask Al Gore. It's a retarded system because states aren't people. But it allows me to vote for whomever and not feel guilty that my vote somehow contributed to the collapse of civilization as a lot of people think will happen every four years.

[Placid Dingo]

It's, ok I think I'm on the same page now.

[Lenin McCarthy]

In Norway you only have one vote, but then again we also have more or less proportional representation. Voting is only pointless if you vote for parties who have less than 4% support (the threshold for the "levelling seats") nationwide and they're not very strong in your area. Also your vote counts more if you live in rural areas.

The Greens are tiny here (not even in parliament), probably because larger small parties like the Liberals and the Socialist Left talk a fair bit about environmental issues (the Liberals, "my" party for the time being, are also pirate-friendly and pro-drug reform, something Green parties are usually big on). The Socialists have been in government for the last 7 without doing much at all, so the Greens could win a few MPs at the elections next year by appealing to disappointed Socialists. I think they also have a bit of a bad reputation of being stinky New Age hippies, which they often live up to.

[Mesozoic Mister Nigel]

This primary i wrote in vermin supreme for the democratic party which he was running under even though hes an anarchist. In november i will be voting for stein who is the green candidate even though i am free to vote for romney or obama.

I had a momentary spell of cognitive dissonance, thinking you meant Ben Stein.