How Many Electoral Votes Per State and an Aside about Gerrymandering ~ Unintentional ASMR

[@Nofrillsasmr]

Fill out a practice ballot, and see what’s on your local ballot, League of Women Voters nonpartisan website: www.vote411.org/ballot I have turned off mid-roll ads (these are the ads that pop up in the middle of videos and help earn money for creators)- if you appreciate this and want to financially support my time and effort please consider hitting the “thanks” ❤ button above. Or if you’d like to buy me a coffee! ☕ 💕 www.buymeacoffee.com/nofrillsasmr

[@LethalJizzle]

I love ASMR channels that explain things, but it seems rare. You, French Whisperer, and Lets Find Out are the only ones ive found, so I'm grateful for this!

[@Nofrillsasmr]

@@LethalJizzle Thank you so much for this comment!!💐

[@fg-nn9qs]

THANK U! I just discovered this video and it helped me with my homework sooo much

[@ethanmixon5]

Great video as always. I wonder if other listeners would agree to this - I would suggest not upgrading your microphone for these videos. It sounds backwards, but I find when ASMR channels upgrade to super expensive microphones it loses the charm. Anyone else agree?

[@melaniehall5885]

Yes this channel has a lo-fi vibe, where it sounds like just sitting in a room with someone. Some creators go for such an ultra polished sound, which is fine if that's what the channel is. I think you can still get a lo-fi sound from a better mic, just depends on the settings.

[@Nofrillsasmr]

@@ethanmixon5 what I need is a secondary mic to pic up sound on my desk, but the chances of me figuring that out are slim. I’m sticking with what works. The only mic I’d like to find right now is something I could take hiking, etc, and still have clean sound.

[@kylekylekyle505]

Yeah this mic is great! I prefer the lofi vibe.

[@digitalUID]

I agree that the mic is good enough.

[@rnels7722]

Funny story about Minnesota’s electoral count: We were projected to lose a vote in the last census but we pushed so hard for everyone to get their census in and New York didn’t, so New York lost a vote instead of Minnesota.

[@Nofrillsasmr]

@@rnels7722 very interesting. I’m writing this down as a new video idea too! Thanks! 😊

[@JackAdams1303]

UK also does not use popular vote.

[@smilesmite6682]

Uk doesn’t even use a presidential system so using the popular vote would make no sense,

[@morivandoka7366]

@@smilesmite6682 well in some non presidential country like italy they use proportional system. It's a way to use the popular vote to choose the new government

[@smilesmite6682]

@@morivandoka7366 yep that is true and a good point. Personally I don’t like complete proportional representation as it doesn’t guarantee representation from each part of the country.

[@Phant0mInfinity]

I found that a very good visual depiction of gerrymandering, don’t sell yourself short! ^_^ I love your videos Linda, this was very relaxing and informative ☺️ ❤️

[@Nofrillsasmr]

Thanks! Sometimes my thoughts get in front of my plan...or something like that.

[@zoyo8903]

The biggest thing to remember is that while it has democratic values and is a democratic system, the United States is not a "Democracy", meaning literally "rule of the people", but rather a Republic, meaning a "rule by representatives". Therein we find why the Electoral College exists, and why we are one of the few "democracies" to not use a popular vote. To use the latter would mean that we aren't simply a "Federal Republic", but a "Democratic Republic" (not the communist kind). Democratic Republics, by nature, tend to be more Unitary (meaning much less autonomy for States/Provinces) than Federal. There are, of course, exceptions to the rule and more complexity involved. But, with all that in mind, it's easy to understand why abolishing the Electoral College is such a big deal: it FUNDEMENTALLY changes our government. Therefore, it is not something to be undertaken lightly. I won't comment, however, on which option I think is the 'correct' one. I leave that to all of you.

[@phexawink9905]

You should do a video comparing different types of cars (sedan VS hatchback VS station wagon, etc). Was thinking about it on my commute and realized I didn't know the definitions of all of them!

[@Nofrillsasmr]

@@phexawink9905 oh, ok, I can do that! Thanks for the idea!

[@Nofrillsasmr]

I just filmed it! Coming today!!

[@phexawink9905]

@@Nofrillsasmr Awesome!!!

[@Nofrillsasmr]

@@phexawink9905 kzbin.info/www/bejne/npfCdIeppbiKia8si=ou82DBTyP2tvDGfT

[@nicolebowman8961]

You’re correct, we are the only modern western democracy that has the electoral college. Interestingly, enough, the only election that the electoral college handles is the presidential election. Every other election in this country is done by…popular vote. So not only is our system different than every other major democracy in the world, our system is different than our system for every other election other than the presidential.

[@Nofrillsasmr]

@@nicolebowman8961 interesting. Thanks for watching and commenting.

[@knj0hn20]

Repeal the 17th amendment and the way we run our government makes much more sense.

[@stevenrochelle2238]

Of course the vote to abolish the electoral college passed the house, its the entire concept of the house of representatives to believe the popular vote is the most important. Theyre a house thats fundamentally the largest body and weighted mostly by population itself. The senate is an entire body that must agree to pass laws intentionally designed to succeed the concept of popularity, so that even the "little guy" who gets equal seats there, 2 per state, has a good and well say.

[@13MillersCourt]

This dynamic changed somewhat with the passage of the 17th Amendment, undermining the bulwark of federalism just a bit!

[@sinisterasmrofficial]

*Educational video! I love it! I feel like many people don't understand how voting works and how votes are counted, this video comes in handy for those that wanna learn about it or get some kind or idea* 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸

[@CommunistCreeper]

To my understanding, the reason why Election Day is on a Tuesday is so that back in the day people could go to Church on Sunday, travel on Monday, vote on Tuesday, travel on Wednesday and trade on Thursday/Friday.

[@Nofrillsasmr]

@@CommunistCreeper ok, that makes sense! Thank you!!

[@josephbutler7189]

Good for you. With the educational content. Thanks as always. I appreciate what you do.

[@Nofrillsasmr]

@@josephbutler7189 Thanks for always being so supportive - I appreciate you!

[@wendywithagun]

Its interesting to hear how other countries form their governments. In Australia, we adopted a system that was designed to be a mix between the American and British systems of government. The Prime Minister is the leader of the party/coalition that wins a majority of seats in the House of Representatives, which I believe works the same as yours. Our Senate works the same as yours as well, but each state gets 12 senators instead of just 2, and each territory gets 2. We also have a Shadow Government or Opposition, which is the party/coalition that gets the 2nd most seats in government. They don't really have much actual power, but they have their own shadow ministers. We also have the crossbench, which is just all the parties that didn't win a majority or opposition and also all the independents.

[@Nofrillsasmr]

Interesting! Thanks for the info!

[@mrgodzilla5677]

That’s actually a pretty smart way to make a visualization of gerrymandering, nice job lol

[@Nofrillsasmr]

@@mrgodzilla5677 Thanks! I mean, I did see it online somewhere, but I felt good I remembered it!! 😊

[@graceisNERD]

I’m certain some of these comments get into it, but this was a super informative video, and I appreciate you making it!

[@Nofrillsasmr]

@@graceisNERD Thank you so much for saying so! 💐

[@johnramirez3406]

Fun in politics? This is war!! … 😂, thank you for the calm vibes

[@Nofrillsasmr]

@@johnramirez3406 Thanks!! 😊

[@regopark]

Thanks!

[@Nofrillsasmr]

@@regopark Wow!! Thanks!! I hope this lives up to this. 🫣

[@steadywatching7564]

36:51 It's a good video. Information that might not be obtained elsewhere. First time I'm hearing of it

[@Nofrillsasmr]

@@steadywatching7564 Thank you so much! 💐

[@primusinterpares5767]

Cool stuff! Btw the USA is not the only democracy that doesn't use the popular vote. Parliamentary governments. (Canada, UK, Germany, etc.) Do not use the popular votes.

[@Nofrillsasmr]

Yes, thanks! I think what I meant is we are the only to use electoral college. Thanks for watching and taking the time to comment!

[@pedrovilarinho1310]

You want to compare a presidential election with a parliamentary election? Lol. US is the only country to elect a president without winning popular vote. Doesn't make sense to elect someone who the majority of voters disagree.

[@mcwhorter141mcwhorter8]

Thank you for the information in such a relaxing way.

[@Nofrillsasmr]

@@mcwhorter141mcwhorter8 Thank you for watching!

[@xSeulgi]

That whole part at 13:00 was such a mess until the lines showed up hahahaha then I was like omg she really did magic omggg hahaha thanks for the lesson frills 🧡

[@Nofrillsasmr]

@@xSeulgi whenever I go off the cuff and there’s math involved, it gets dicey. 😂

[@xSeulgi]

@ I love u hahaha

[@Roishy]

As a European I found this super interesting! Great vid and you explain things really well :))

[@Nofrillsasmr]

Aw, thank you so much!

[@TeigenUsensurert]

Very few countries use a direct popular vote. In Norway, parliament is the only national election. Votes in Oslo (capitol) count less than certain more rural counties. Also, it makes sure the number of members in parliament are rarely proportional. For instance, center right lost an election with 200,000 more votes than left of center.

[@Nofrillsasmr]

@@TeigenUsensurert Interesting. Thank you.

[@kieranedmunds2936]

The UK system is similar to the US but its like the House of representatives in that small areas of around 70,000 people get 1 representative. And our 270 magic number is 326 We technically vote for a local representative and then whichever party gets the most seats in parliament elects our leader

[@Nofrillsasmr]

@@kieranedmunds2936 ok, that’s interesting! Thanks for sharing!

[@AntonyMB]

One of the best examples of gerrymandering are voting districts around Chicago.

[@pedrovilarinho1310]

Yeah both sides gerrymander, but Republica gerrymander a lot more and they have less states with independent commissions. That's why they are against Ohio issue 1

[@chrisprendergast5411]

13:45 -- No, just because a state's House districts are gerrymandered, it has no effect on your Electoral Votes for presidential elections. The EVs in a given state go *totally* to the winner of the popular vote in that state (with small exceptions in Nebraska and Maine). How the House districts are allocated have nothing to do with presidential winners/losers. It affects House seats only.

[@Nofrillsasmr]

@@chrisprendergast5411 gotcha. Thanks.

[@jedoak]

just about to doze off to this banger in really excited to learn about electricity 🔥🔥

[@Nofrillsasmr]

I hope you fall asleep quickly! 😬😂💤

[@imonlysleeping4491]

Prob not the right space, but anyone know where i can find the reason why the presidential vote isn't popular vote? I get district voting for local representatives, but i would have thought the a popular election would be a good counter balance to gerrymandering.

[@Nofrillsasmr]

@@imonlysleeping4491 I couldn’t find the right words so I asked ChatGPT to help, dang, she’s good! - The U.S. presidential election isn’t determined by a simple popular vote due to the Electoral College system, which was established by the Constitution. The Founding Fathers designed it as a compromise between electing the president by a vote in Congress and by a direct popular vote of citizens. They aimed to balance the influence of both populous and less-populous states, preventing larger states from having too much power. Supporters of the Electoral College argue it ensures a more geographically distributed vote, while critics believe it can lead to outcomes where the popular vote winner doesn’t win the presidency, where each citizen vote doesn’t hold equal weight, raising questions about fairness in a modern democracy.

[@Nofrillsasmr]

@@imonlysleeping4491 this video is also an enjoyable watch and helps explain things: kzbin.info/www/bejne/h2LdnpWMmLKce68si=AzsSvbs9498GEy2Z

[@thefavoramerican]

It’s because of federalism. Each state gets a say. For example the democrats will usually always get the popular vote because of California. If we did do a popular vote it’d be like telling the people for example in Wyoming that we don’t care about them

[@imonlysleeping4491]

@@thefavoramerican That doesn't make sense. You still have upper and lower houses so states are represented, what I don't understand is why the president isn't popular vote - as a counter balance to the state system, to oppose gerrymandering, and as a way to express a nation more fully. Ultimately some votes will not matter at all: 2 votes yes, 1 vote no, means the no voter is unrepresented - but that's the point of democracy, it's to represent the most possible. I'll have to watch nofrill's linked video, for some reason youtube decides randomly what comments I get, don't get to see.

[@j.p.gonzalez9218]

Interesting video, but we should really implement popular vote instead of electoral. I don’t even want to be controversial or political when I say this tbh

[@Nofrillsasmr]

Well, according to what I read 60% of American's agree. Thanks for watching!

[@APatriot90]

No we shouldn’t. Goes against the history of the country. We are not a democracy but instead a representative republic with a constitution and bill of rights. The whole point of the system is to protect the rights of the minority while also utilizing the majority.

[@SweeturKraut]

I caution supporting a national popular vote. The electoral college gives a voice to small groups of people. Currently this arrangement favors conservative states… but imagine a future where it may favor a small liberal state. No group of people in a constitutional republic should be subject to the whims and will of a simple majority. An old saying I like to reference says… the definition of democracy is two wolves and a sheep voting on what’s for dinner.

[@Notkdenben]

@@SweeturKrautI’m a really okay with the majority of Americans getting what they wanted rather what we currently have. I mean that’s like real life anyway. Not everybody gets what the want, but at least the majority do.

[@stevenrochelle2238]

No thanks. Popularity isnt a value I appreciate. Its a union of states not a union of mob rule. Wyoming and California have the same amount of Senators for a reason. Its important every region as a body gets an equal or weighted seat at the table. Its interesting people constantly mock and deride populist politicians, who are simply espousing popular opinion. Then on the same side they want popular vote to win. Its a Republic before its a Democracy, there are multitudes of published thoughts and discussions on this topic. We have an electoral college for a reason.

[@moisesamarquez]

Your current set up works great! But if you are looking for mics I think the Blue Yeti would work best, you can plug it directly into your phone with an adapter.

[@Nofrillsasmr]

@@moisesamarquez I have a very old Blue Yeti around here somewhere. I may have to dig it out. Thanks!

[@maciedixon3983]

It’s unfortunate the census was so bad cause honestly Florida and Texas are supposed to have one more

[@inasnowstorm1496]

I'm more a fan of the popular vote but I have to admit that the voting system of the US offers some great entertainment during election night, with the results of the various states coming in one by one. And when the candidates are coming close to the 270 mark, usually an extra bit of suspense is added by telling the people that the remaining states will be "too close to call" for at least some more hours. If you use popular vote you usually just have a newscaster saying: "As now all the votes have been counted, we can inform you that candidate A has 52% of the votes and candidate B has 48%. And now the weather forecast for tomorrow."

[@inasnowstorm1496]

@@hollyb750 It's the swing states that are called last.

[@ayseturkoglu1061]

💙🙏🏻💙🙏🏻💙

[@Nofrillsasmr]

@@ayseturkoglu1061 Thanks for watching!

[@meowzic]

Thanks for explaining this. Ridiculous system lol

[@freemoneyjackpot3101]

i think the concept of electoral college vote was created for balance. Obviously a concept can only have so many dimensions being used in certain contexts and it might seem unfair to have electoral college vote in certain contexts but nothing can be created perfectly balanced, only hedged towards. Again i know nothing about politics just using common sense.

[@Dark_Detective]

Some democracies don't elect their president at all. Instead their president is chosen by their legislature.

[@guywilcox736]

I've got a question- Americans who live overseas can still vote can't they? By postal vote? Which state would the vote count for? Would it be the state the person was born in, the one they last lived in?

[@Nofrillsasmr]

www.fvap.gov/fpca-privacy-notice I’m not sure, but I think the info is here. Thanks for watching!

[@Tamara-dv7vo]

I've read several of the comments that are pro electoral college. I guess I'm still not understanding why it is fair for a minority of people to make choices for the majority. This is frustrating because I am open-minded and relatively intelligent lol. I am trying to understand but I don't!

[@Sldoficn]

Electoral college doesn’t allow minority to make the decisions for the majority.. It gives the minority an even playing field with the majority. We have different laws state by state because each state has autonomy from federal government to govern themselves. We are literally “united” “states” - a collective of separate states that are united for certain laws not all laws.. That’s why we allow smaller states the same standing, same power of choice, as their larger counterparts.

[@wesreleases6346]

We have the Electoral College for the same reason we have two branches of Congress: to prevent mob rule. It allows representation from across a diverse population. If the popular vote was all that mattered, states with smaller populations could be entirely written off. The United States fundamentally believes that everyone’s voice should matter, even if they come from a minority population. This is why every state has 2 Senators.

[@anjelkanja8032]

​@Sldoficn but why should the minority be on the same level as the .ajority, if the majority want something they should get it unless it goes against the rights of the minority

[@abcxyz2927]

@@anjelkanja8032 And that’s why the US has over 10 thousand ‘special interest’ lobbyists inside the beltway making sure very wealthy minorities get their way, regardless of what the majority want..

[@We1rdHaTguY]

​@@abcxyz2927 If the minority had an equal voice to the majority then the "very wealthy minority" wouldn't need lobbyists. Popular vote should at least count for something. If the popular vote mattered, the "very not-wealthy majority" would have a much bigger say over the "very wealthy minority".

[@alexschofield944]

Great video as always, but the US isn’t the only western democracy not to use a popular vote system as we in the UK don’t use this. For electoral purposes the country is divided up into constituencies and each constituency has a seat in parliament. The eligible voters of each constituency vote for the candidate they want to take their seat and the party with the most seats then forms government. The flaw with this is similar to the flaw with your college system in that all votes cast for any losing candidates in each constituency don’t count and aren’t reflected in the make up of the government. For example, as our recent general election this year, the candidate I voted for didn’t win the seat for the constituency I live in and as such my vote effectively didn’t count on a national level.

[@Nofrillsasmr]

Ok, good info! Thanks!

[@sarak.1742]

Subscribed ❤

[@Nofrillsasmr]

@@sarak.1742 Thanks!!😊

[@fnfclownworld7043]

I love the video! We’re the only country with a concept of an electoral college but we’re not the only democracy that doesn’t directly elect an executive. Canada, for example, it’s the party/parties that choose the prime minister.

[@Nofrillsasmr]

Thank you for your comment! Seriously, you’ve made me feel a bit better.💐 I’ve had a rough night here deleting some very not nice comments calling me or others bad words. I rewatched and I don’t think it’s that bad. I’m confused.

[@jadapinkett1656]

We are not the only country that uses an electoral college.

[@fnfclownworld7043]

@@jadapinkett1656 Gotcha, what other countries use one?

[@Nofrillsasmr]

@@jadapinkett1656 what?!? I give up. Edit to say: “we are the only democracy, that is a republic, that uses an electoral college.” Are we all good now?

[@sg696]

Getting rid of the electoral college would mean that states with smaller populations would have virtually no representation in terms of the presidency. Essentially, California and New York would determine who wins in every election, which would mean Democrats would control the executive branch in perpetuity. There was wisdom involved with why we do not base who wins on the popular vote. Can you imagine the conflict that would exist if a majority of states had no say in elections? The nation is very diverse by region, and having midwestern states completely subject to the votes of people in high population centers would be met with resistance and possible fracturing of the nation. Why would the smaller states want to participate in a union where they have no say in their governance?

[@AlyciawithaY]

But everyone would be equal. No one's vote will count more than anyone else's.

[@sg696]

@@AlyciawithaY whether or not you agree , I would just point out that it would take a constitutional amendment to get rid of the electoral college. In other words, it is here to stay.

[@Notkdenben]

I can’t say we’re better off

[@Yo_DynamoJoe]

The quite simple solution to the issues you highlight is to calculate the votes by *percentage* and not by individual votes. If all the votes of the *entire* nation were simply tallied and counted, and the overall, final *percentage* of votes for a given candidate determined who won, then the size of states and their political majority wouldn't matter any longer. If 50.1 percent or more of the votes are for a particular candidate, then that's the new president. No arguing, no crying, no rioting. Determining the winner by percentage fixes the population issue. Each and every citizen's vote would count equally. Therefore candidates would have to concern themselves with winning the support of *all* Americans rather than just focusing on swing states or avoiding states that majority align with the opposite party.

[@drmp5450]

​@@Yo_DynamoJoethat's not a good idea. Popularity does not work for such a large nation. Remember most of our states are the size of European countries.

[@hawkman2735]

Illisconsin there at the end was annoying me lol.

[@Nofrillsasmr]

@@hawkman2735 I’ll have to rewatch, I’m not exactly sure what I said. Thanks for watching and taking time to comment!

[@hawkman2735]

@ no sorry, just Kent that the line between Illinois and Wisconsin was missed by the sharpie lol

[@springssoftestshades]

💙💙💙🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸

[@Doc-ch5oz]

"I believe we're the only democratic country in the world that doesn't use a popular vote system." Umm we are not. Like not even close. The PM of the UK is elected by other members of parliament. The same is true of the Chancellor in Germany and many other states

[@Nofrillsasmr]

I try hard to explain within in the video and in the description that I am not an expert, and this is merely a jumping off point and meant for relaxation. I try to post daily and work full time on top of this, so my videos aren't perfect.

[@lukethomas6936]

Not many counties use popular vote tbf a surprisingly low amount of

[@LucindaConnolly-yn2bp]

@@Nofrillsasmryou always explain this very explicitly, and I’m sorry people still feel the need to rudely point out inaccuracies (that aren’t even the main point of the video), particularly when others have already done so. I hope you’re doing well and not letting these super unnecessary comments get to you 🌼

[@Nofrillsasmr]

@@LucindaConnolly-yn2bp aw, thank you. Actually the comments that are still here are not the bad ones! I couldn’t believe some of the reaction I got. Calling me names and sexist stuff, crazy! I delete it all, from here and from my life. It’s ok, I can handle it. But thanks so much for your kindness!

[@KOUGRR]

You state we’re the only democracy in the world to use electoral college. Well, we aren’t a democracy, we’re actually a republic.

[@Nofrillsasmr]

Representational Democracy - would that be better. I think I gotta stop making this kind of video, I can't handle how wrong I seem to be about everything - exhausting. (I've deleted the really nasty comments)

[@KOUGRR]

@@Nofrillsasmr Well i just wanted to make sure people knew that we are actually more of a republic than a democracy. And sorry you're getting a lot of nasty comments.

[@gabrielthebeliever1304]

Im tired of people calling the Usa a democracy. When it's a constitutional republic.

[@diewott1337]

@@gabrielthebeliever1304 Democracy and republic aren't mutually exclusive. If you vote to elect officials, you're in a representative democracy. Since the US has no monarchs, that makes it a republic too.

[@diewott1337]

"we aren’t a democracy, we’re actually a republic" - The US is both, like most countries that have free elections also are. No, having an electoral college doesn't make you unique.

[@calmon-ground962]

The founding fathers thought long and hard about checks and balances which is why they chose to be a republic. A republic, if we can keep it, said Ben Franklin. I hope we do. Let's not take our freedom for granted!! Thank you for your wonderful videos!!!

[@Nofrillsasmr]

You're welcome. Thanks for watching!

[@Conrad-n8e]

The electoral college is important because it keeps a handful of cities from deciding for the rest of the country.

[@NakanaiJP]

This is not true at all. The 10 largest cities in the US have a combined population of 7.5% of the total population of the country. That's not enough to decide anything. Maybe a national popular vote means no candidate visits Wyoming, but no one's going to Wyoming now, either.

[@Conrad-n8e]

@@NakanaiJP obviously not just the big cities, but it ensures everyone is heard across the country. People in Wyoming matter too

[@pedrovilarinho1310]

​@@Conrad-n8e you are just afraid of losing. Republicans know that abolishing electoral college would make harder to them winning any presidential election. But sure let's support a system where only 7 states decide election. Republicans in CA and Dem in Wyoming should have the right to make difference in an election

[@anjelkanja8032]

​@@Conrad-n8ebut people in wyoming don't matter at the moment because of the electoral college, and why should a wyomingites vote matter more than a californian

[@bIoodd]

@@NakanaiJPyou can’t abolish the electoral college, everyone’s vote matters. Yes even in rural areas.

[@atlantisknight601]

Voting only works if the people have a vested interest in the government, its policies and are tied to the consequences of their vote. Same with the government being accountable to the body of voters. Originally, the right to vote was an earned right. In the US, it was land ownership because land owners at the time were the only one who paid taxes (the rich used to be the only one paying taxes) because property tax was the only mandatory tax at the time. As far as one can tell, universal suffrage is a mistake. Voting is exercising violence against your neighbor if they vote against you. The electoral college mitigates the greed of the masses and reduces the consequences of their votes so impulsive changes are unable to happen. It keeps the balance between regions. Anyways, recreational nukes and medical cocaine are human rights. Voting has spiritual consequences that most people won't understand but no matter who wins, Christ is King.

[@carterhunter8879]

Kanye 2020

[@jadapinkett1656]

Wahmen and their small minded opinions regarding civics and politics.

[@Nofrillsasmr]

lol. As a 53-year-old blonde woman I’m particularly used to this kind of joke made at my expense. 😂