[klipt]

You can't say nobody voted for the vice president, they are part of the presidential ticket.

If the president can't serve, they literally become president.

Hypothetical scenarios:

1. Biden/Harris wins presidency. Biden steps down. Harris is now president.

2. Biden/Harris wins Democratic nomination. Biden steps down. Harris is now nominee.

How is 2. any less democratic than 1.?

[ruok_throwaway]

No one voted for them when they were campainging by themselves in 2020 - 0 delegates won.

2024 primaries were shut down - so no one voted them again. They wouldn't have won the primaries if the primaries were held.

---

The fact that you mention they have been voted for because they were the second person on the ticket that won the presidential election is exactly what is wrong with the US. They only managed to win by association and now they hope to fail-upwards solely on name recognition (gained through association!)

In the US you don't win on merit anymore, now the game is:

1. get a small win by association

2. use the newly gained name recognition to fail upwards

What a shame.

[conception]

I think your premise that historically US presidential elections have been won on merit is…. Not without some perhaps very incorrect assumptions.

[peutetre]

The internal processes of a political party aren't that interesting.

There is a presidential election coming up. That is the test that actually matters.

Kamala Harris will either win it or she won't. If she wins then she was good enough to win. If she doesn't win then she wasn't good enough to win.

[pintxo]

Minus the fact that the election logic can result in the overall more successful candidate to loose.

Because no one cared to adapt an over 200 year old rule to changes in transportation and communication technology over the last century.

[peutetre]

It isn't minus the fact. To win the presidency you need to win the electoral college.

That's how it works and the same system applies to everyone.

Whether or not that system should change is a separate issue.

[Gud]

Obviously they are interesting. It's the preselection of what the general population can vote for.

If you can only vote for two different candidates(which is the case now, Kamala Harris and Donald Trump), how the f*k is that democratic? It's a sham.

[matthewmacleod]

I absolutely agree that this entrenched two-party system is a clear issue that needs to be resolved if the US is to become a real functioning democracy. But also woe to noting that there are other parties in the race also; they just don’t have popular support.

[klipt]

Two parties is the mathematical equilibrium of every first-past-the-post system.

Only way to have more parties is to adopt something like a proportional parliamentary system. Which will never happen because you'd have to change the constitution.

[peutetre]

> It's the preselection of what the general population can vote for.

No. It's the candidate the party is putting forward.

> If you can only vote for two different candidates

There are five candidates in this election. Vote for the one you like best.

You can run for president too. When will you be announcing your 2028 campaign?

[Gud]

Actually I can't, because I don't live in the US.

Which I'm glad I don't, because I live in a country with a functioning democracy.

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