The Declaration of Independence granted us the right to control our government. Thomas Jefferson once stated, "When a nations government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the right of its people to abolish it and establish a new government." After viewing the articles Source 1:"What Is the Electoral College?" by the Office of the Federal register, Source 2: "The Indefensible Electoral College: Why even the best-laid defenses of the system are wrong" by Bradford Plumer, and  Source 3:"In Defense of the Electoral College: Five reasons to keep our despised method of choosing the President" by Richard A. Posner it seems clear that the Electoral Colleges have lessened the power of the people in our nation. With the Electoral College method of selecting our nations new president the people of our nation become less empowered, they may cast their vote but the choice of president is never truly theirs. The Electoral Colleges drive people away from voting because they see the election as if their vote will not matter. To further empower the citizens of the United States the Electoral Colleges should be abolished.

Throughout our nations history the majority vote has lost due to being outvoted when it comes to Electoral Colleges. Because of the majoity vote losing out to Electoral Colleges, people have come to believe their vote will not matter in the long run. In Source 2 Plumer declares, "faithless electors have occasionally refused to vote for their party's canidate". With this method of selection for our country's president, the vote is never certain. The slate of electors that the people essentially vote for may or may not stick to the original plan. This ties back into people losing hope that their vote will not matter because they trust the electors to vote their canidate into office, when the electors could go either way. Another key point is, the canidates may not campaign in states that have a lower number of electoral votes. In Source 1 the Office of the Federal Register also asserted, "Most states have a 'winner-take-all' system that awards all electors to the winning presidential canidate". Due to the Electoral College system being based off population some states have more of a say than others. Whenever a state decides their votes for Electoral Colleges the state typically contributes every vote it has to one canidate. When this occurs the state's people may be misrepresented.

Electoral Colleges do not reflect the democratic style of government we have had for hundreds of years. In Source 3 Posner states, "it is the electors who elect the president, not the people". Ever since the United States has been around our lifestyle has been purely democratic. The people are supposed to the empowering body of our government and their voice is the one that should be heard. But since we have the Electoral College the voice of the people has become muffled. No longer is the presidential election a democratic event, but one that is decided through the votes of only a few chosen American citizens. Plumer observed in Source 2 that, "During the 2000 campaign, 17 states didn't see the canidates at all". If the people of America are truly part of our governing body then they must see the canidates and hear what they have to say. The Electoral College has driven canidates away from states that will not have much say. These states are then left to make a decision for themselves and decide based on their personal preference, they are never able to truly hear what these canidates may or may not have to offer.

On the other hand, Electoral Colleges do have a lack of uncertainty. As Posner said in Source 3, "the dispute over the outcome of an Electoral College vote is possible but it's less likey than a dispute over the popular vote". The Electoral College provides the American people with a certainty of outcome. Whenever a state decides where its Electoral votes are going the canidate typically wins by a landslide electoral-vote victory.

Although the Electoral College has a few appealing qualities, it is mostly an unfair system for the United States. The colleges should not have the power to decide the president, that should be the people that reside in the country's choice. Thomas Jefferson spoke of the people taking control of their country's government and the citizens of America should do just that if they are ever to escape the grasp of the Electoral Colleges.    