Why we do need the Electoral College

A June 9 letter stated that “we must abolish the Electoral College.” I disagree. The Constitution was not easily passed, but required enormous debate and compromise.

A key issue was representation. States with large populations thought that representation should be based on population (Virginia Plan). States with lower populations thought representation should be based on equality (New Jersey Plan).

The Great Compromise created a bicameral (2 houses) congress. Representatives are based on population, and the Senate is based on equality. This explains how the states are represented.

The President should also represent based on population and equality. The Electoral College gives more votes to states with a larger population, but based on how close elections can be, the Electoral College gives equality to the smaller states.

In 2000, if Al Gore had won our smallest state, he would have been president. Without the Electoral College, presidential hopefuls would cater to just the largest states, and the small states would have “taxation without representation”. Sound familiar?

Mark Fruehe

Lombard