jwb

I don't necessarily disagree with you in general I just care less about the ideal than the pragmatic results. I wasn't aiming the electoral college part at you btw.

I do think it's questionable calling elections in authoritarian states elections tbh

It's like calling show trials actual trials. Elections aren't just the performative act of voting but the functional act of actually selecting leadership through said votes. The game way trials are the functional act of allowing a process of examining evidence to try to determine guilt, rather than the performative act of trying people where the evidence is irrelevant and the verdict is pre determined.

So with that said, while the US is more democratic than say China, its elections are rendered less legitimate to the extent that voting doesn't matter. Which is obviously most of the country thanks to the EC, imo.