The Electoral College is a group of people chosen to represent their state’s popular vote of who to elect as president. Each state elects a slate of electors, the number based on their representatives and senators, to represent them.

The Electoral College was established because the Founding Fathers didn’t want uninformed voters to elect the president and to give power to smaller states, which made sense in 1787. However, it is currently 2016 and uninformed voters isn’t as big as a problem as it was in 1787. We have things like universal education, TV, radio, newspapers and the Internet, so voters can learn about candidates for themselves.

The argument that the Electoral College to smaller states is an illogical reason to keep the system. Giving more votes to less populous states contributes to political inequality. A vote should equal a vote. My vote matters just as much as someone’s vote would in South Dakota, but that would only be true without the Electoral College.

Some may argue that we need the Electoral College because it makes the president-elect’s win seem like an obvious win. For example, in 1992, Bill Clinton had won 43 percent of the popular vote and George W. Bush received 37.5 percent of it. However, Clinton got 270 electoral votes, while Bush only attained 168.

On the other hand, because the Electoral College is “winner take all” in all but two states (Maine and Nebraska), people who disagree with the majority in their state are not represented. The first three words of the Constitution are “we the people”, and yet the people aren’t being fully represented.

Voters should always feel like their voice matters, but because of the Electoral College, candidates only focus on campaigning in swing states. In order for this to happen the Electoral College should be abolished or if it stays, there should be a way for all citizens to be represented.

For example, Argentina has makes sure that their citizens feel as though their votes matter by using a direct presidential election.

The President and the Vice-President are elected in one ballot by direct popular vote, using a runoff voting system, a voting system used to elect a single winner, whereby only two candidates from the first round continue to the second round.        

Without the Electoral College, campaigning would have to happen in all states to get the majority, as it should. Candidates would have to get as many individual votes as possible in every state, making sure every citizen knows that their voice matters, which could lead to increased voting across the country. With a system of direct election, all votes would be equally important and equally sought after. We need to abolish the Electoral College and make our presidential elections one person, one vote.