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The Electoral College is a method of voting for President and Vice President that was produced by our founding fathers in the articles of the Constitution. The Electoral College has been in use for centuries, but it is time that we disregard it. The Electoral College was a smart idea in the seventeen and eighteen hundreds, but as our country continues to change, it is necessary to change the way that we elect our leaders. The Electoral College has remained untouched and exactly the same for hundreds of years and this has caused it to be extremely outdated. Not only is it far too outdated and complicated to help our voting process, but the Electoral College does not give the voters voice; instead, it takes it away from them. The Electoral College also can lead to concerning situations that the country and its people do not want to be put in. For these reasons, I strongly encourage you to make the change and switch to election by popular vote.

The question of whether or not to abolish or keep the Electoral College in tact is a heavily debated one, but it is clear that getting rid of the Electoral College will be highly beneficial to the voters of America. The Electoral College was established hundreds of years ago when our Constitution came about and it created a complicated process to elect the President and Vice President of the United States. Our country is changing day by day, and we certainly have made monumental changes since the Electoral College came to be. According to Bradford Plumer, author of, "The Indefensible Electoral College: Why even the best-laid defenses of the system are wrong," a poll was taken by Gallup in the year 2000 that showed that less than just forty percent of Americans support the election system that we have now. This proves that it is time for a change and that the system that we currently have in place has been in place for far too long. The everchanging United States of America is in desperate need of an up-to-date election system that fits the current needs of the American people. The Electoral College is not only outdated, but it is also an extremely complex voting method. In an article entitled, "What Is the Electoral College," written by the Office of the Federal Register, it is explained that the Electoral College is a lengthy process that involves the choosing of electors and the issuing of Certificates of Ascertainment after both the people and the electors have voted. The Electoral College does far more harm than good for our country and for this reason especially, I believe that America should begin to elect its Presidents using the popular voting method.

Moreover, the Electoral College should no longer be the voting method of the American people because the people are given no voice with the Electoral College process. In his article, "The Indefensible Electoral College: Why even the best-laid defenses of the system are wrong," Bradford Plumer specifically states that the people themselves do not vote for their desired candidate, but instead, they vote for electors who then vote for the more popular presidential candidate. The people should be the ones who vote for the president because they will be the ones who are governed by the president. The Electoral College gives no voice to the people and is considered by many to be a non-democratic way of voting and is often referred to anachronism. Today, it is a struggle to encourage people to vote and be present on election day because no one feels like their vote matters. People say that one vote doesn't make a difference and that there is no point in filling out a ballot if it has no real affect on which candidate is chosen. The Electoral College and the process it established is really just confirming these opinions. People do not feel like they are contributing because when it comes down to it, the electoral votes are the deciding votes. The Electoral College only has a little over five hundred electors that are representing the millions of regular people who show up at the polls on election day. In order to make the people feel like their opinions are being voiced and their voice is being heard, and to increase voter turnout on election day, it is imperative that the country switches over to election by popular vote.

Most importantly, using the Electoral College as our voting method can lead to some serious problems. The replacing of electors that oppose the popular vote result is a problem that comes with using the Electoral College. Not only is it not hard to accomplish, but it has happened before. According to Bradford Plumer in his article, "The Indefensible Electoral College: Why even the best-laid defenses of the system are wrong," in the early 1960s, people who favored races being seperated in society were almost able to replace Democratic electors with a new set of electors who supported the opposite party. Also, some corrupt electors who are not pleased with the popular vote will simply vote for whomever they please. Electors clearly have trouble being trusted and there is obviously some extreme dislike for the system we have now. The Electoral College also causes some problems when instances like a tie in the electoral vote come about. In this case, a tie in the Electoral College would be thrown to the House of Representatives, who would then vote for the President. The Electoral College brings about uneccessary problems that could all be avoided if the country converted the way of electing to election by popular vote.

In summation, the Electoral College has been around for hundreds of years, but it is time that the United States makes the change that would improve the way of electing its future Presidents. The Electoral College is outdated and complicated, does not allow the voice of the people to be heard, and leads to uneccessary voting complications. For these reasons, I vehemently feel that we should switch from the Electoral College to election by popular vote.

Score: 5