Dear Senator Nelson,

In recent years, many people have called for the change of the presidential election process. Specifically, the Electoral College. Many condider it a pointless, unfair, and archaic system that denies the people the liberty of choosing their president. However, I believe the Electoral College is a necessity in modern America. Although it is as old as the country itself, it is still relevant and usefull today.

The Electoral College ensures the outcome of an election. Without the Electoral College, the election may possibly need multiple re-runs as a result of a tie in the popular vote. According to "Does the Electoral College work?" by the Office of the Federal Register, "The Electoral College consists of 538 electors. A majority of 270 electoral votes is required to elect the president". With that few of electors, it reduces the chances of a tie occuring. Although it can happen however, it's not probable. For example, if two canidates ever had a tie among the popular vote, it could be resolved within the college because of the way the slates of electors are divied up among the states. Some critics of the college say that this systems takes the control out of the peoples hands and denies them the right of choice. However, you have to remember that the people elect a slate of electors to vote for their canidate. That means that even though the College ultimately decides the president, the people still have someone to represent their canidates.

The Electoral College is also a necessity because it forces the canidates to face issues the people care about and to appeal to the masses. According to "In Defense of the Electoral College: 5 reasons to keep our despised method of choosing the president" by Richard A. Posner, "The Electoral College requires a presidential canidate to have trans-regional appeal. No region (South, Northeast, etc.) has enough electoral votes to elect a president. So, a solid regional favorite, such as Romney was in the South, has no incentive to campaign heavily in those states, for he gains no electoral votes by increasing his pluralarity in those states". This means that in order to win the popular vote and get a chance to win within the Electoral College, a canidate must appeal to the country, not just a particular set of voters who may have different views on politics than the majority of voters. Some people say that a canidate may try to appeal to a set of voters but in the end just use them in order to win the presidency. To that I say this. As a canidate, your ultimate goal is to serve two full terms as the president of the world's leading superpower right? Why would a canidate want to lie and jeprodize their chances at doing what they feel is right for the country?

In Conclusion, the Electoral college must not be done away with. It is a necessary tool to maintain fairness among the canidates and the election process. We have checks and balances among the government so one branch of government may never gain more power over the others so why not supervise the most important process in government? If you take anything at all away from this letter, please let it be this. The Electoral College is a staple in American politics. Without it, we would be denying our country the right to a fair election.

Sincerely,

PROPER_NAME    