Politicians and the public have argued for years over one burning question: Should the Electoral College be discontinued? I believe the Electoral College should not be used in the United States anymore. To understand the faults within this system, one must understand the system at its basic level. The Electoral College is a system that consists of 538 electors. Each state has a different amount of electors, granted on the size of that state's population. When the election is held, the voter votes for the electors, not the candidate directly.

The first fault one can find while examining this system is the "winner takes all" policy that most states have. In paragraph seven of the first souce, the article states, "Most states have a "winner-takes-all" system that awards all electors to the winning presidental candidate." This system seems unfair, especially in states where the vote for electors is won by a small margin. The votes cast for the candidate who lot the electoral votes in their state are not counted in choosing the president, which hinders the ideals of democracy in this country. In paragraph nine of the second source, the article reads," according to a Gallup poll in 200, taken shortly after Al Gore, thanks to the quirks of the Electoral College, won the popular vote but lost the presidency." This crisis in 2000, when George W. Bush won the electoral college, but Al Gore won the popular vote, displays the lack of clarity with this system. This election was a prime example that the president is not chosen by the popular voice, but rather by the Electoral College, which does not accurately represent everyone.

The second fault with Electoral College stems from the first issue: people are not voting beacuse they feel as if their voice is not being heard. Stated as a counterargument in paragraph 23 of source three, the article states, "It can be argued that the Electoral College method...may turn off potential voters for a candidate who has no hope for carrying their state - Democrats in Texas, for example, or Republicans in California." People are choosing not to vote because they feel as if their voice is being shadowed by the major polictical thinking in their state, and this mindset corrupts the institution of democracy in the United States.

An argument made by those in favor of the Electoral College can found in paragraph 20 of source three, "Voters in toss up states are more likely to pay attention to the campaign...They are likely to be the most thoughtful voters, on average and the most thoughtful voters shoule be the ones to decide the election." This argument is opinionated and has no substantial evidence behind it. According to source 2 in paragraph 13, "During the 2000 campaign, seventeen states didn't see the candidates at all." This was due to the candidates spending their time, money, and efforts to win over "swing states", the states that could go either Republican or Democrat depending on the candidates that year.

The Electoral College is a system that should not be used anymore because it does not properly consider the opinions of all voters, turns away voters who believe they will not have their voices heard, and leave states without seeing ads or candidates during the election because these candidates are trying to win over other states.            