Getting rid of the electoral college....

..seems like a good idea right now. It also seemed like a good idea after other elections with close results leaving voters feeling disenfranchised.

As others have pointed out, we have more choices for cereal than for candidates.

IRV, used in Australia, seems like a good idea. A voter ranks candidates of their choice 1,2,3 and in close elections, this can make a difference in terms of really allowing people to cast their vote the way they want and feel as if their voice is being heard.

Which it would be.

I think voting is mandatory in Australia, too, although I wouldn't want to force people to vote.

But rather than hear endless post convention chatter focusing on minor issues and media spins in our essentially two party system, maybe it would encourage broader debate of more important issues.

For a history of the electoral college and court cases involving it, click here. The author proposes five reasons to support using a popular vote:



5 Arguments for Direct Popular Vote
1. When the winner of the Electoral College is not the candidate who received the most votes of the people, the new president will face questions about his legitimacy.
2. Most Americans believe that the person who receives the most votes should become president. Direct election is seen as more consistent with democratic principles than is the Electoral College system.
3. The Electoral College gives disproportionate weight to the votes of citizens of small states. For example, a vote by a resident of Wyoming counts about four times more--electorally--than a vote by a California resident.
4. If presidents were elected by direct popular vote, they would wage a campaign and advertise all across the nation, rather than (as they do in the Electoral College system) concentrating almost all of their time and effort in a handful of battleground states. The Electoral College system encourages candidates to pander to the interests of voters in a few closely contested states.
5. The Electoral College system, especially in a close election, is subject to the mischief that might be caused by disloyal--or even bribed--electors.