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Chris Kalafatis
Mr. Hawkins
American Government P, Period 2
15 October 2014
Should the Electoral College Be Abolished?
The Electoral College was created before we had the internet, the radio, and
television, these systems are a very effective way to inform the people of the United
States on who to vote for, but back when the Electoral College was being created the
inventors did not see these in our future. Therefore our system is a flawed and has
been a part of how our country votes for president since the creation of this nation, but
in modern society it has caused some controversy because of it being undemocratic.
The Electoral College should be abolished because it makes small states over
represented, is not an accurate representation of peoples votes, and violates
political equality.
In the Electoral College there are electoral votes that are given to each
state based on their population; the only problem is the system says every state
has at least 3 votes, which throws off the way they are distributed. For example
Illinois has a population 12,830,632 people, while 12 other States and D.C. have a
total of 12,500,722 people, but Illinois has a total of 24 less electoral votes
(Document D). Therefore, peoples votes are valued less than others contingent on
what state you live in. Wyoming has a population of 563,626 people and Montana

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has a population of 989,415 people, but they both have the same amount of
electoral votes (Document D). Due to the fact that the minimum amount of electoral
votes you are allowed to have per state is 3 making people in Wyoming have almost
twice as much of a say in who becomes president over Montana. If there were to be a
tie in the Electoral College, the tiebreaker would go to the House of Representatives.
Because each state casts only one vote, the 3 representatives from Wyoming
would have as much say as the 55 representatives from California (Document F).
Furthermore, California has 70 times the amount of people than Wyoming but they get
just as much say as everyone in California. This alludes that larger states are wrongly
represented and the Electoral College is biased towards smaller states.
People are not having their votes accounted for properly, when there is a
vote held among the people it should be decided by the majority, not by what 538
different people want. Illinois has a population 12,830,632 people, while 12 other
States and D.C. have a total of 12,500,722 people, but Illinois has a total of 24 less
electoral votes (Document D) therefore, 641,531people are represented per electoral
vote in Illinois and 284,107 people are represented per electoral vote in 12 other states
and D.C. This means that people that live in those states get 2.25 times the amount of
say in their vote over the people in Illinois. There have been several elections where
the popular vote did not win the election and this is what people see as the biggest flaw
in the Electoral College. Secondly In the 1824 Presidential Election, the 1876
Presidential Election, the 1888 Presidential Election, and in the 2000 Presidential
Election the popular vote was not represented accurately (Document G),
furthermore, there were as many as 500,000 people who voted for the other candidate

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to win, but did not, this conveys how the system can be unjust and frustrating to the
people of the United States because it makes it seem like their vote means nothing. A
candidate would only have to win the eastern third of the country to win the
Presidential Election (Document A) if this were to happen only 24 states would be
accounted for, which as you probably know that is 1 less than half of the states, and the
candidate would not have to travel very far, considering they are all on the eastern side
of the country. This is just one of the many reasons the Electoral College should be
abolished.
People in the United States are having their political equality violated here
is some evidence to validate this statement. Illinois has 329,910 more people
than 12 other States and D.C. combined, but still has 24 less electoral votes
(Document D) this document conveys that 641,531people are represented per electoral
vote in Illinois and 284,107 people are represented per electoral vote in 12 other states
and D.C. This means that people that live in those states get 2.25 times the amount of
say in their vote over the people in Illinois. There is no reason for the people of Illinois
to have a less say in who they think should lead their country over anyone else.
Secondly, Wyoming has a population of 563,626 people and Montana has a
population of 989,415 people, but they both have the same amount of electoral
votes (Document D) meaning that people in Wyoming have almost twice the vote as
the people in Montana. A voting system is supposed to be a fair way to decide
something among a group of people, but when someones vote counts for 2 and
everyone else only counts for 1 it has made the system unfair, which is basically what is
happening with the Electoral College. Finally, People of Wyoming have 70 times

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more of a say per vote than people of California if the Electoral Vote goes to a tie
(Document F) If you were to have a vote between 71 people and it were to decide if
someone was guilty or not of a crime and 70 of the 71 people believed he was
innocent , but since that 1 person who thinks the person is guilty they get to go to prison
for a crime they didnt commit because that 1 person has as much a say as everyone
else.
In conclusion, this validates that the Electoral College is outdated and has too
many flaws to stay in our voting system. The Presidential Election decides how we live
our lives and how we interact with other nations. This should not be taken lightly if there
is any form of unjust to this voting system is should be fixed for the better sake of our
country. Yes our founding father thought this was the best way for them to decide who
was president, but in this day and age all it does is have a chance for the people of the
United States to feel incorrectly represented and violated of their rights that every man
and woman is created equal.