Dear Senator,

We the people, of the United States of America..... These are the first words written upon the Declaration of Independence. This is our very earliest document showing our democratic tendencies, and how we act as one. It also shows how we make decisions among ourselves as a people, as opposed to having other make decisions for us. This leads me to what I wish to discuss with you. Others do not vote for us. We vote for ourselves. We decide who leads us, who will help us get to a better place, who will decide what to do about the national debt, who will pass laws concerning immigrants and the minimum wage. We do. Not you, not the House of Represenatives, and most certainly not the Electoral College. Which is why there should be no Electoral College.

The Electoral College is a group of people whom elect the president(2). How many for each candiate there are is decided by us, the voters. But heres the thing- most voters think they're voting for the president. They dont even know what they're voting for! And even if some do, its easy to get confused and accidentally vote for the wrong candiate(10). While one vote may not skew the entire election, a couple thousand can.

Many who support the Electoral College will say that voting by popular vote is a bad idea becuase of the possibility of a tie(18). But in reality, it is just as easy to tie in the Electoral College. Its happened recently too, in 1888 and again in 2000(18).

This isn't the only thing thats broken about the Electoral College. The possibility that a president could win by popular vote, but lose the campaign due to the electoral vote is filthy. It is unfair to the people, and far from democratic. The Electoral College is an anachronism(15). It reminds me of the Roman Republic really, and we are not romans, and this is not a republic. Or, at least, its not supposed to be.

Something else that is unfair to the people. Due to the Electoral College canaditates only focus on large states, or swing states(13). Voters in small states, such as Wyoming, will never see the candiates and may see only one or two camaign ads. They can't get to know the candidates and make an informed decision. And even in the regional states, democrats should always be trying to convert republicans to their side and vice versa. But becuase of the large swing states, this rarely happens.

The possibilty of corruption among the Electoral College, is also a present danger. I'm sure you remember form history class how party bosses took advantage of naive immigrants. I can imagine republican electors being paid off or threatened so that they vote democrat. Can you really trust the electors?

According to a poll in 2000, 60% of people want to activate a popular vote system. Popular soverignty worked well for awhile when it came to the topic of slavery, why won't it work for us now? And why would anyone want such an outdated system like the Electoral College in place? Think upon my words Mr. Senator. The Electoral College needs to end.

Sincerely,

PROPER_NAME   