Dear Mr. Florida State Senator,

My name is PROPER_NAME from SCHOOL_NAME in LOCATION_NAME, and I am writing to you addressing a matter that I have witnessed being discussed, come every four years presidential election time: the Electoral College. I am in favor of abolishing the Electoral College and changing to election by popular vote for the president of the United States. The method of electing our president should be changed to election by popular vote because the Electoral College is unfair, problematic, and does not represent the will of our citizens accurately.

First of all, the Electoral College is unfair. Because many states are "set" Republican or Democrat, it seems like only the votes in "swing states" seem to matter. According to

The Indefensible Electoral College: Why even the best-laid defenses of the system are wrong ,"During the 2000 campaign, seveteen states didn't see the candidates at all...and voters in 25 of the largest media markets didn't get to see a single campaign ad."So, it seems that, in this system of election, only the swing states matter in voting. Though the focused campaigning is necessary in the process of the Electoral College, it would not be necessary if the voting system was by popular vote. This is unfair because it puts potential voters in the dark about what's going on. Also, Democrats in "Republican" states or vice versa cannot hope for them to help their preferred presidential candidate, as mentioned in

In Defense of the Electoral College: Five reasons to keep our despised method of choosing the President .

Secondly, the Electoral College is problematic. There is much uncertainty with the Electoral College. As

What Is the Electoral College states, we vote for electors to vote for the President and Vice President. According to

The Indefensible Electoral College: Why even the best-laid defenses of the system are wrong , "[The electors]can be anyone not holding public office...sometimes the presidential candidates themselves." The electors may not vote for who the people wanted. An example of this would be in the presidential election of 1960. Also according to

The Indefensible Electoral College: Why even the best-laid defenses of the system are wrong , "...segregationists in the Louisiana legislature nearly succeeded in replacing the Democratic electors with new electors."(paragraph 11) If they had succeded, it would have meant a longer period of intense segregation and racism, which we are still fighting to this day. Another reason that the Electoral College is problematic is in a case of a tie in the electoral vote. Then, more steps are required to figure out who's president.

Lastly, the Electoral College does not represent the citizens of the United States accurately. Many reasons support this claim. I think political parties are similar to "cliques" in school. People in cliques act in a certain way, dress in a certain way, only think that how they do things is right, etc. Political parties are similar. If you pick a political party to identify as, you're either "pro-life" or "pro-choice". You're either for something or against something. There's not really an in-between. In

In Defense of the Electoral College: Five reasons to keep our despised method of choosing the President , author Richard A. Posner says that "Voters in presidential elections are people who want to express a political preference rather than people who think that a single vote may decide an election..."(paragraph 23). Presidential candidates that don't identify with a certain party don't have much of a chance to win at all, even if they might turn out to be what's best for our country. I don't think there should be a vote for "political preference", but that's another arguement. Voters should vote for who they want to represent their country with flexible decisions, not a set cookie-cutter description, like a clique in school.

In conclusion, I believe we should abolish the Electoral College and put in place a new system of voting. The process of voting should be changed to the poplular vote because the Electoral College is unfair, uncertainly problematic, and an inaccurate form of representation. We all want what's best for the country, right? So, this is how I think we should make our country better. My voice may not be much, but it only takes one to start a movement. Please consider my voice, and it could be a step to making our country the best it can be.

Sincerely,

PROPER_NAME