General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: 5 Things Red State Liberals Want Blue State Liberals To Know [View all]zipplewrath
(16,646 posts)The two party system basically exists because of the "winner takes all" of our elections (you don't need a majority to win most elections) and money. Parties, and their structure, make it difficult to play the game because there is so much money in the two party system.
The EC isn't really much of a problem, it is rare it doesn't align with the popular vote. In the House, gerrymandering is a serious problem, even more so at the state level with state legislatures. And in the Senate, the "two senators for every state" gives a heck of a boost to the minority. About a decade ago I figured that with senators holding the right states, about 13% of the population could fillibuster anything in the Senate. Heck, even in the House the "every state gets at least one" means that some states have way more representation than their populations deserve.
It was a system designed when there were 13 states and the largest was Virginia and the smallest was Rhode Island or something. Now, you've got places like Wyoming and Alaska "on par" with a state like California.