|
|
Article: Should the Electoral College be abolished? The 2000 election and its aftermath prompted renewed debate over our system for electing the President and Vice President.(Debate)
- Article from:
- New York Times Upfront
- Article date:
- October 11, 2004
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2004 Scholastic, Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
|
YES
When the Constitution was written, the typical voter had few opportunities to learn about presidential candidates, so the job of choosing the President was given to the Electoral College: Electors, who were appointed by their states, were better educated than average citizens, who were not thought capable of making an informed choice.
Today, with universal education, TV, radio, newspapers, and the Internet, voters can learn about candidates for themselves. And they should be trusted to choose their President.
The Electoral College is unfair in several ways. First, it gives more weight to votes cast in small states. (Each state's electoral ...