I’m responding to recently raised questions regarding the Electoral College. Many people refer to the Constitution and assert that the Electoral College is more fair in providing power to states with smaller populations. However in attempting to do so, it denies a voice to the minority in any given state.

The Electoral College was proposed in a time when communication was so slow that votes took months to be counted and it was thus necessary to require representatives from each state to travel to a central location and vote together at one time. In addition it was a time in which only white male landowners had the right to vote. Thus, it was not a concern that each individual regardless of status be included.

Each state has two senators in order to distribute power equally among the states and varying numbers of representatives in Congress so that population be considered. This balance works well for the bodies of government that pass laws and develop the budget.

The Electoral College adds together the number of senators and representatives for each state in deciding the number of electoral votes. Therefore neither state nor population is fairly represented. Most important, however, is the president is not a speaker for an individual state, but for all of the people. I believe that it is imperative to abolish the Electoral College so that each individual has an equal voice in electing the leader and voice of our country.

Diane M. Clay

Litchfield