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Being a person of politics yourself, you of all people should know that many compromises have been made over the course of the establishment of the United States. However, some of the compromises, like the electoral college, were made because of factors in the past and are now not needed in today's modern democracy. While the electoral college once worked as a compromise in the past, it is an archaic system that unfairly represents the votes of citizens all across the nation. A popular vote should instead be utilized to fairly choose the people of power in this country and would better represent voters' opinions.

In implementing the electoral college, most states' votes either go to one candidate or the other, leading to candidates to only campaign in swing states (Bradford Plumer 13). This may not seem like much of a problem, but consider this: a swing state such as Florida with over 20 electoral votes could go to a candidate who could have won by a 51 to 49 percent margin. This means that all the voters who voted for the other candidate no longer count, making the electoral college ineffective at voicing the opinions of the populous. Also, many states may not even see the future president at all, like in the 2000 election where the candidates did not even go once and talk in seventeen states. This leads to a poor democracy because voters in these states will surmise that if the president will not bother to visit their state, they shouldn't bother on making an educated decision when voting, or may choose to not vote at all. In a election by popular vote, presidents will have to make greater strides in getting the people's votes and citizens will then have more of an impetus in learning more about their country's government and politics.

With the Electoral College, there is also the risk that electors may not necessarily vote for the candidate the people want as president. In the Electoral College, "voters vote not for the president, but for a slate of electors, who in turn elect the president" (Bradford 10). These electors may not necessarily vote for what candidate voters want most as president, and could do what they might feel is the best decision; however, this is not always what the majority of voters want in a president and could end up with a poor president. In addition, most voters know very little about how these electors are chosen and are not in control of who their state's electors are. In a way this system is a bit corrupt, because the voters don't have the final say of the president.

In addition, a tie is likely in an electoral vote because of swing states, which has the potential to lead to a disaster. If two candidates receive the same number of electoral votes and tie in an election, the House of Representatives then chooses the president, while the Senate choose the vice president, but their votes may not show who voters want as president, seeing that voters often vote one party for president while the other for their representatives (Plumer 12). The vote for president is distributed unevenly, and states with many voters will only be represented by one vote. this could lead to the House of Representatives choosing a president that is only liked by a small population and this cannot easily be undone. Swing states are the only thing that can cause or prevent a tie in elections, and a tie has almost occured in 1976 in Hawaii and in 1968 in Ohio.

Those in favor of the electoral college argue that because candidates will focus on swing states in order to win voters in those states will pay closer attention to the election and make a more educated decision (Richard A. Posner 20). However, this is not necessarily the case, and there are plenty of other well-educated voters in other states who have opinions that will never be counted because of the electoral college. If the popular vote becomes the new method in choosing the president, voters all across the nation will pay more attention to elections because they feel that their vote can make a difference, and it will. This will in turn increase the number of voters actively paying attention to their country's decisions. Because of the Electoral College, "about one-half the eligible American population did vote in [2012's] election" (Posner 23). Although this number is mentioned as a success in Posner's arguement, this means that there is one-half of American voices left unheard. Democracy only works if all citizens vote, but they will only take the time to vote if they know that they can make a difference.

Change needs to happen and it has to soon. If not, a poor president could be elected and then who knows what bad things could happen? With the popular vote, more people will be heard, and they will better take part in their country's government, leading to a better nation.

Score: 6