Hello internet. Let's talk about this map, this argument, and the Electoral College in general.

In my trouble with the Electoral College video from 2011, I was wrong to use the city limits for that part of the argument,

rather than the more expansive metro area. The lawyerish nerd inside of me still wants to argue technically correct on that one. I used the city boundaries because the metro areas are often vague and absurdly large. The New York metro area is 6,700 plus square miles over four states. And from where I partly grew up, it seemed that a lot of that area had nothing to do with New York City proper.

So at the time I disregarded the metro boundaries.

But using the strict city boundaries in that video was the wrong decision in retrospect.

In addition to being a bad argument to make, it also doesn't address the concerns this map express.

And this is correct. Half the population does live in the

gray counties. And more than that, the map gets at a fundamental division in the United States and

other countries that leads partly to the politics we see, the difference between the rural and

the urban. If trends continue, a higher and higher percentage of the country will live in urban areas.

In another 8 or 16 years, this map will be even more extreme.

The metro areas even denser, which if you're in favor of the electoral college,

will seem like even more of a reason to keep it.

Now, this is where we must discuss the

idea that the electoral college ensures the president is elected by the states. It doesn't. A candidate

can win the electoral college with just the 11 biggest states. This collection may seem unlikely,

but as urbanization and the politics it creates continues, it becomes increasingly likely.

The Electoral College doesn't ensure the president wins with a lot of states or even geographically diverse states.

Now, should the president represent the people or should the president represent the states is a question without an answer.

This is about preference in style of governance.

One moves power up to the federal level and the other moves power down to the states.

And given the vastness of the country and the difference in her geographies,

...