Gone are the days of slavery. Gone are the days of horse and buggy. Gone are the days when rivers and hills slowed the transference of information. Gone, too, should be the days of the Electoral College.
When our country’s founders were deciding how to elect the president, popular vote was considered but rejected because they feared people would only vote for candidates from their home states. The vastness of the land, matched with the lack of timely transportation, hindered the spread of information, leaving much of the U.S. population ignorant about issues and politicians outside of their own state. Afraid that only candidates from the most populous states would win, the founders created the Electoral College, which gave the South an equal chance to elect the president despite its smaller population. But because there are no longer presidential candidates from every state, and modern communication methods pay little heed to physical boundaries, the Electoral College no longer serves any worthwhile purpose. American politics appears to give an age-old tradition more clout than an informed and interested public.
Thus, if a candidate like George W. Bush wins the popular vote of a big state like Florida, he gets all the electoral votes, completely ignoring voter turnout. If more people voted in Minnesota than in Florida, the latter would still be worth 15 more electoral votes than Minnesota. This is an outrage to the Declaration of Independence, which states, “All men are created equal.” According to the Electoral College, how equal you are depends on which state you live in. This must change. All American votes should be equal. The only way to guarantee this is to dissolve the Electoral College.