The Electoral College system is a serious problem with the United States government. The Electoral College is a system for election in which each state selects electors equal in number to that of its representation in the House and Senate. (O’Connor and Sabato, 2000) This method took the election of the president and vice-president out of the people and Congress’s hands, and placed it in that of the selected electors. (O’Connor and Sabato, 2000) Forty-eight of the fifty states use the “winner-take-all” method. (Lavelle et al., 2000) That means that whichever candidate wins the states popular vote receives all of that state’s electoral votes. (Lavelle et al., 2000) The system was the result of a compromise at the first Constitutional Convention. (O’Connor and Sabato, 2000) It was designed to protect the nation from mob rule and ensure some power to the less populous states. (“New Calls,” 2000) But recent National surveys have determined that a large percentage of the nation’s population doesn’t vote in presidential elections. This low percentage may be because many people feel that there is no point in voting if the Electoral College is going to decide which candidate is going to get the state’s votes. And in western states, the public often feels that the election has already been decided before their votes are even cast. What is the point of voting if the national population can all vote for a certain candidate, and the opposing candidate still win because that is who the electoral college members voted for? These are some of the serious problems that follow the Electoral College system that I feel need to be changed.The Electoral College was designed for practical reasons at the first Constitutional Convention. (O’Connor and Sabato, 2000) Because there was virtually no way for the common citizen to know anything about candidates from other states,...
