Quote:
Originally posted by Moonchild
Even if the electors were awarded proportionally, presidential candidates would still need a majority of electors to win. That takes third parties out of the equation even without winner-take-all. The electoral college isn't responsible for how electors are allocated, but it is responsible for third parties being unviable.
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No, it's not the electoral college's fault. (Sorry, I know this is a really late reply, but I just saw this.) If it were the Electoral College's fault then congress wouldn't be split by two parties. Neither would state legislatures or governors' mansions.
Winner taker all (also known as first past the post) discourages the electorate, rightfully so, from voting 3rd party, because the electorate knows they could potentially split the vote. Case in point 1992 - 200 presidential elections. Historically, 1912 is also a good year. A majority of people did not want the candidate who won, and the third party opition was either clearly (in 2000) or possible (92/96 and 1912) more in line with the losing party than the winning party. That means the 3 party voters probably would have preferred the losing party. Example, I'm sure Ralph Nader supporters would have preferred Gore to Bush, but they didn't like Gore enough to vote for him first.
You are right that proportional isn't going to fix presidential races; proportional is more for multiple member groups, i.e. Congress. President, along with governors and senators, should be elected under
instant run-off voting or some type of preferential system. This way you can rank candidates. Bernie can be your #1, Jill Stein is #2, Hillary can be #3, Gary Johnson #4, and you can keep on going down the list, until Trump is last.
Of course you can rank them however you want.
The idea is, a candidate will need a majority, not a plurality.
I would be more than happy to talk more about this to anyone. This is literally my major. 
TLDR: Winner take all voting discourages the electorate, rightfully so, from voting third party because it splits the vote. See
instant run-off voting and
proportional representation
I thought the media was biased against Clinton? 
