As the US is in the throes of a presidential election, we examine why the US electoral system seems so strange and complicated.

In this podcast we discuss the origins of the US electoral system, why it seems foreign and the rationale underpinning its complexities. We delve into the difficulties of changing such a system and consider what an idealised electoral system would look like.

A few things we mentioned in this podcast:

- Effect of the electoral college on narrow elections https://www.nber.org/papers/w27993#fromrss

- US election outcomes and the popular vote https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_States_presidential_elections_by_popular_vote_margin

- Electoral college history https://history.house.gov/Institution/Electoral-College/Electoral-College/#:~:text=Originally%2C%20the%20Electoral%20College%20provided,the%20President%20and%20congressional%20selection.&text=The%2012th%20Amendment%E2%80%94ratified%20in,the%20President%20and%20Vice%20President.

- Vox on why people vote https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2017/6/1/15515820/donald-trump-democracy-brexit-2016-election-europe

- Voters vote on looks https://phys.org/news/2018-04-voters-choices-based-looksbut-doesnt.html

Find more Cognitive Engineering episodes here http://podcast.alephinsights.com and for more information on Aleph Insights visit our website https://alephinsights.com

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