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Should the U.S. abandon the Electoral College?
Dear Editor,
There are pros and cons about electoral votes and electoral colleges.
A friend of mine says her vote won't count because of the use of electoral votes.
According to Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, the United States is the only country that elects its president using an electoral college. It is the only country where a candidate can become president and not have the highest number of votes.
Proponents of electoral voters and the electoral college says that states with larger populations and more big cities would cause rural areas to be at a disadvantage.
Nebraska has lots of rural areas and less population than California, New York, Florida, Texas and some other states.
In 1787, the Continental Congress adopted the Virginia Plan, or the use of Electoral Votes. James Madison said that the popular vote for U.S. president was ideal.
However, there would be arguments between northern and southern states over slavery.
So, he supported having a system using electoral votes.
Those who favor doing away with electoral votes say it would increase voter turnout. Some experts say that we should mend it, but not end it.
I wonder what the readers of the Gazette have to say about keeping the system of electoral votes. Do they favor doing away with it, or do they want to keep it?
Helen Ruth Arnold,
Trenton, Nebraska