Written by John Griffin Miller   

The media’s misunderstanding of the mathematics of elections continually amazes me.

If Donald Trump is polling at say 35% of Republicans, and Republicans are about
23% of the electorate, then 35% of 23% is about 8%. If 8% of any group were in favor of something, we would probably take no notice. Cause, you see, 92% are NOT in favor of it!

Bernie Sanders lost--lost I tells ya--the Iowa caucuses by a fraction of a percent. What a loser! But it actually means that if about 1 person in 300 changed their mind, then the election results would be reversed! Pay no attention that a number of the counties were apparently decided by coin flips, which all went for one candidate. Not sure how that makes it valid at all.

In Nevada, another caucus state, the three and a half point difference means that if 2 people in 100 flipped, then Bernie wins. Again, a small sample in a small state, seasons away from the election. That’s news?

And remember also that the turnout for primaries is pretty low, and caucuses even lower. So, with 2016 turnout expected to be pretty high, to make judgments on a tiny fraction of a small percentage in a small state is pretty amazing. Yet, the media hangs on every comment from every tiny meeting in frozen Iowa 10 months before the general election.

But the media, even the liberal leaning folks at MSNBC crow on and on about a 14-point loss in some contest somewhere. And while they ignore the issues involved and concentrate on the horse race, they are disingenuous about the significance of a 14-point loss. A 14-point loss means that if one voter in 14 changed his or her mind, the race would be tied. If the turnout is only 40%, then that’s about 1 person in 35!

And, let’s talk about the presidential election. We all know that 40-some states are already decided, and one side or the other will be taking 100% of the electors from those states. Florida, Ohio, and a few others will be making the final decision for all of us. (I live in Florida, so that’s ok with me. When I lived in Kentucky, it was the heights of injustice.)

So why do Texas voters get to help choose the Democratic nominee? Texas should want the weakest nominee from the other party. Why does California get to choose the Republican nominee for the same reason. If I lived in California, I might go volunteer for Rick Santorum! Go Rick!

As long as we have the retarded Electoral College, why does Puerto Rico get to send delegates to the national conventions? Their votes don’t even actually count! Nor do Guam, or US Virgin Islands or American Samoa. And neither does Washington, D.C.!

So only the 7 or 8 swing states should participate in primaries and conventions.

Oh, and let’s do it all in the month of October 2016, please.