American elections

Frustrating, to say the least, sure is an understatement. I hate the whole electoral college, period. I think they should get rid of it.

I agree - the business of "redistricting" is completely anti-democratic. In the UK we have a politically neutral electoral commission that decides where the boundaries lie between Parliamentary constituencies, and that is just as it should be. Likewise, the Speaker of the House of Commons must give up all political allegiances on taking office and act in a fair and neutral way in conducting the business of the House. In many ways the United Kingdom is far more democratic than the United States - and you can't buy elections here, either!

I am an American citizen and I have a hard time understanding gerrymandering, too. California recently passed new laws to make gerrymandering more difficult. A committee made up of both parties have to define the districts and they have to follow natural boundaries and cannot be shaped in an irregular way that favors one party or the other. I'm not sure if other states have tried taking a step against gerrymandering. As for the electoral college, it made sense back when most of the United States was a frontier and it took weeks just to get the delegates to the electoral college together to cast their official vote. Today, it is outdated. However, changing our constitution would be so difficult, no one want to hassle with it.