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Americans around the world gather around their televisions, frantically waiting to see who the next leader of the USA is. The first Tuesday of November is always an exciting time for American citizens. Citizens watch the number of votes go up, thinking their vote counted, when in reality, it did not. Many people are aware of the electoral college. The electoral college are the ones truly voting for the United States leader. While we may have had this process for years, it's time for us to take a vote to change the way we vote. Citizens of the United States of America should be able to vote by popular vote because the electoral college is outdated and ruins the American freedom.

The world we live in now compared to the 1800s is very different. We've upgraded, not only in our inventions, but our states as well. The electoral college was made when America was first established because it was fit for the needs of that time. The Office of Federal Register states, "The founding fathers established it in the Constitution as a compromise between the election of the President by a vote in Congress and election of the President by a popular vote of qualified citizens." Back then, it was needed to balance things out among the 13 colonies. In those times, we didn't have the advance techonology we have now to see our candidates on screens or in person. Since then, we've turned 13 colonies into 50 states, turned horses into cars, and small radios into televisions. Rules and laws change to fit the current needs all the time. The electoral college should do the same. Due to the fact this system has been around since the founding fathers, major mistakes occur. This process is too old to keep up with the third largest population in the world. Bradford Plumer of source 2 tells us that in 2000 "Al Gore--thanks to the quirks of the electoral college--won the popular vote but lost the presidency."  If this is truly a land of democracy and of the people, how could we let such a mistake happen? How could we let majority of citizens vote but not get the person they choose?

Another factor to this problem is the American freedom. The electoral college imposes on the American freedom and right to choose their president. The United States of America is a representative democracy. The citizens choose who they want to lead but those votes aren't truly their own votes. According to Richard A. Posner of source 3, "...the Electoral College method is not democratic in a modern sense...it is the electors who elect the president, not the people. When you vote for a presidental candidate, you're actually voting for a slate of electors." American citizen votes do not matter as much as we think they should. The founding fathers built this country for the people. The people should have an actual voice in who they want to lead this great nation. In addition, Americans should have a direct say. Votes should go straight to the president and not the party's electors. This is not only fair to citizens but also a more relible plan. Bradford Plumer of source 2 explains to us that ""faithless" electors have occasionally refused to vote for their party's candidate and cast a deciding vote for whomever they please..." We can't depend on these electors to determine one of the most important things of this country. We can't depend on these "faithless" electors to vote who we want when they might do the opposite. Voting by popular vote prevents these mishaps and restores our democracy.

While others may claim that the electoral college is beneficial to candidates because of big states, small states, and swing states, it's a one-sided deal. It may be beneficial to candidates but what about the voters? Source 2 reads "during the 2000 campaign, seventeen states didn't see the candidates at all, including Rhode Island and South Carolina, and voters in 25 of the largest media markets didn't get to see a single campaign ad." If these candidates expect to lead the third largest country (population wise), they should have to put out the extra effort to visit and campaign to every state. The candidates need to show they care for this country and they are here for everyone. If they cannot put in the extra effort to see the lives they are going to change, do they deserve to be president?

All in all, the electoral college is no longer needed to today. The electoral college is made for the modern world and also disrupts our representative democracy. Times are always changing, we, as a society, are always changing, and the electoral college needs to change as well.

Score: 6