For those of you who would like an alternative to the Electoral College, I have two suggestions:
1) Formulate an amendment to the constitution and get it passed as is required by the US Constitution.
2) Become citizens of a country that does not have an Electoral College and counts the popular vote.
Of course, the first option is very difficult. It is meant to be. In addition to being difficult, I doubt a single amendment would do it, because the very basis of the country is being a Republic. Rapid changes, swinging back and forth with "popular whim" were one of the reasons the US was created as a democratic Republic and not a popular Democracy.
I really can't believe all the whining that goes on about this.
If you live in a city, you are statistically most likely to be a Democrat, these days at least. I say thank god that there is some balance, as cwo4uscg mentions. I really can't believe that people on either side believe that they have the answer and that every size fits all, in a country as big and varied as the US.
For those who are freaked out about the difference between the popular vote and the EC vote and think that you all were somehow robbed of your destiny because "Hillary should have won": take a look at the state-level politics (if that even matters to anyone any more), how many Democratic positions in state legislatures have been lost, how many Democratic governorships have been lost, over the last 8 years. And of course, there is the US Congress, where Democrats lost a pretty big majority in both chambers, which was gone in 2 years after Obama's first election and is now Republican. Of course, Trump could screw that up; but either way, if Democrats were wise, they would give up some of this social engineering they are trying to do, which is not really helping anyone but hurting many, and be a bit more moderate and try to fix things that are really and truly problematic, and not on a pie-in-the-sky level either, but could mean the very future of the US itself.
Ries mentions that she has faith in the younger generation - I don't know her children and I'm assuming they are fine people. But other people their age, or so, who are throwing fits, temper tantrums, saying Trump isn't their president, finding "safe places" where they can pet a dog so they don't have a breakdown - of course it's their right to show their asses and say what they want (YES! to Free Speech! Always!), but I'm disgusted, personally, with the way many are acting. It gives me no consolation to know that I am stuck between someone like Trump and a bunch of cry babies in the future.
The Democrats talk about Republicans being racist (well, isn't that why they didn't vote for Obama, and why they were trying to impede his goals? Couldn't have anything to do with they being worried about his being far left and wanting to implement a single-payer healthcare system, could it?) and sure, there were a few idiots talking about Obama not being their president back then (even Trump, in 2012, wanted to lead a march on Washington, unfortunately, though that didn't go very far) - but I don't think in nearly the numbers. But it's OK for Democrats to act like little kids who want to take their ball and bat and go home - after all Democrats know exactly what is good for the rest of us, right?
Personally, I am so tired of the divisions in the US and the nanny state that the Democrats are trying to implement while denigrating everyone who doesn't agree with them that I stayed away when I left to do business and don't know if I'll ever go back for more than visits. There are an awful lot of people who feel the same, on both sides of the aisle, even if they still live in the US - look at the vote in the last presidential election. It was indeed close - but 1.5 million votes, remember, is a gnat's ass over 1% difference. The electoral college is helping those in the "fly-over zones", as so many people so eloquently put it, maintain a little bit of freedom from the people who have caused inner city blight and poor living conditions with their welfare policies and want to force even more.
Democrats can continue to say it was some kind of weird statistical fluke, that the EC is at fault, that everyone but them are a bunch of racists and misogynists and they know the only way to Utopia. But I don't think that is going to work. Depending on how Trump does, it could be disastrous for Democrats, if he does well. If he does poorly, sure for a time Democrats may hold the upper hand again - until everyone remembers why they voted for someone as "off" as Trump to begin with. And next time, when Democrats start seeing more latino and black men voting Republican (Trump got more of them than Romney did - imagine if someone else had been the Republican candidate and could have kept from antagonizing that sector of the vote!), they will be asking themselves again - "what happened? I don't get it..."
