Why states should adopt the National Popular Vote plan for president

Rob Richie // Published May 17, 2009 in San Diego Union-Tribune

The Electoral College is understandably the single-most disliked feature of the American Constitution.

As implemented by states today, it is an antiquated anachronism that violates fundamental principles of representative democracy. It weights votes differently based on where they are cast, makes the national popular vote irrelevant and creates opportunities for partisans to game the system through changing the rules governing how votes are counted and how electoral votes are allocated. Left unchanged, our Electoral College system promises to deepen political inequality, with a damaging impact on small states, young voters, urban America, people of color and all the Americans living outside swing states.