the electoral college should be abolished

1) A republic is defined as, "a state in which the supreme power rests in the body of citizens entitled to vote and is exercised by representatives chosen directly or indirectly by them." http://dictionary.reference.com... This is an actual definition instead of self defined interpretation of what a Republic is. "Chosen directly or INDIRECTLY by them"- the president is chosen indirectly, but is still determined by popular vote. 2) Yes it is possibly for the winner of the election to loose popular vote, but is any system perfect? No! So why is the electoral college better than popular vote? It protects individuals in small states, and protects the views of the minorities. New York City has a population of 8.3 million, while both nebraska and iowa have a combined population of under 5 million. Iowa and Nebraska are two states known for farming, and the midwest is the "bread basket of the United States, and makes a large portion of the worlds food. If we have a popular vote only system farmers would not have a strong voice in the political spectrum. WHen one city is larger than many states combined, then many people will have worthless votes. Nobody will campaign in the midwest but only in large cities around the country. This is only one example of people loosing their voices. There are also ranches, and others who will loose their voices. 3) My opponent says that voters are discouraged from voting because he says their votes don't matter, but they actually do. Legal Requirements or Pledges Electors in these States are bound by State Law or by pledges to cast their vote for a specific candidate: ALABAMA " Party Pledge / State Law " " 17-19-2 ALASKA " Party Pledge / State Law " " 15.30.040; 15.30.070 CALIFORNIA " State Law " " 6906 COLORADO " State Law " " 1-4-304 CONNECTICUT " State Law " " 9-175 DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA " DC Pledge / DC Law " " 1-1312(g) FLORIDA " Party Pledge / State Law " " 103.021(1) HAWAII " State Law " "" 14-26 to 14-28 MAINE " State Law " " 805 MARYLAND " State Law " " 20-4 MASSACHUSETTS " Party Pledge / State Law " Ch. 53, " 8, Supp. MICHIGAN " State Law " "168.47 (Violation cancels vote and Elector is replaced.) MISSISSIPPI " Party Pledge / State Law " "23-15-785(3) MONTANA " State Law " " 13-25-104 NEBRASKA " State Law " " 32-714 NEVADA " State Law " " 298.050 NEW MEXICO " State Law " " 1-15-5 to 1-15-9 (Violation is a fourth degree felony.) NORTH CAROLINA " State Law " " 163-212 (Violation cancels vote; elector is replaced and is subject to $500 fine.) OHIO " State Law " " 3505.40 OKLAHOMA " State Pledge / State Law " 26, "" 10-102; 10-109 (Violation of oath is a misdemeanor, carrying a fine of up to $1000.) OREGON " State Pledge / State Law " " 248.355 SOUTH CAROLINA " State Pledge / State Law " " 7-19-80 (Replacement and criminal sanctions for violation.) VERMONT " State Law " title 17, " 2732 * VIRGINIA " State Law " " 24.1-162 (Virginia statute may be advisory " "Shall be expected" to vote for nominees.) WASHINGTON " Party Pledge / State Law " "" 29.71.020, 29.71.040, Supp. ($1000 fine.) WISCONSIN " State Law " " 7.75 WYOMING " State Law " "" 22-19-106; 22-19-108 No Legal Requirement Electors in these States are not bound by State Law to cast their vote for a specific candidate: ARIZONA ARKANSAS DELAWARE GEORGIA IDAHO ILLINOIS INDIANA IOWA KANSAS KENTUCKY LOUISIANA MINNESOTA MISSOURI NEW HAMPSHIRE NEW JERSEY NEW YORK NORTH DAKOTA PENNSYLVANIA RHODE ISLAND SOUTH DAKOTA TENNESSEE TEXAS UTAH WEST VIRGINIA Over half the states have laws requiring electors to vote with the popular vote of the state. Yes some states don't, but electors vote with the popular vote more than 99% of the time. It is an extremely rare occurrence that an elector would vote against popular vote, and an elector voting against popular vote is not present in 20th century politics. Popular vote would cause less people to turn out to vote, when a city is bigger than your entire state your vote has no effect. 4) Also, America is a two party system and even if we have popular vote a third party candidate will not win an election. In 1976 North Carolina was a blue state, popular vote and electoral college voted democrat. North Carolina then became a consistent Republican state until 2008. In 2008 North Carolina became a "blue state" once again. This shows that entrenched states will not always vote the same way as my opponent has tried to show. In 1992 Bill Clinton won 2,281,815 votes while the Republican candidate, George Bush, won 2,496,071 million votes. This is only about 200,000 vote difference. This shows that the right candidate can make a difference in "entrenched" states, as my opponent states. In 2004 George W. Bush won 44% of the popular vote in california. Both Texas and California are the states most likely to continue to vote along party lines, but as shown they can be very close states in some elections.