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The Electoral College was originally established as a compromise between election of the President by a vote in Congress and election of the President by a popular vote of qualified citizens. Presidential candidate Al Gore actually won the popular vote done by citizens, but ended up losing the Electoral College voting which caused him to lose his campaign for presidency. To prevent further occurances such as the fiasco involving Al Gore, the Electoral College must go. Former Presidents Richard Nixon and Jimmy Carter both happened to agree on the abolishment of the Electoral College! According to a Gallup poll taken in the year 2000, over 60%

of voters would prefer a more direct election process. In other words, they want the Electoral College system abolished.

Voters actually don't vote for President; they vote for a slate of electors who end up voting for the president. I feel that this system isn't cohesive enough; it's easy for people to think that a majority vote for a candidate means an automatic victory when actually the Electoral College votes are what truly matter. What would be the reaction if a certain member of the College decided to vote against his party's candidate? With a system filled to the brim with flaws, it's easy for many upsetting instances to occur in the future. In fact, the state of Louisiana almost succeeded in replacing the Democratic electors with new electors who would oppose

John F. Kennedy. (So that a popular vote for Kennedy would not have actually gone to Kennedy.)

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. The Electoral College method is outdated, at best. If seventeen states didn't even get to see the candidates, then something is obviously wrong. Had 5,559 voters in Ohio and 3,687 voters in Hawaii voted the other way, a tie would've occured in the 1976 presidential election.

There is one, gaping flaw in the Electoral College voting system; the winner-take-all basis. A very slight plurality in a state creates a landslide electoral-vote victory! Another unfair aspect about the Electoral College is the fact that larger states garner more attention (and votes!) than do smaller ones. Florida netted candidate Obama 29 electoral votes whereas Wyoming snagged him 3 electoral votes. Such a discrepency can turn off potential voters such as Democrats in Texas or Republicans in California. Overall, the Electoral College is an outdated practice which must be invalidated soon enough.

Score: 4