How our votes count Can somebody please tell me why this country still requires the Electoral College in this day and age for presidential elections?
In 1787, there were concerns about larger population centers controlling these elections. But that really isn't the case now. The fiasco in 2000 in which Al Gore won the popular vote but didn't win enough electoral votes because of voting/tabulating "irregularities" in Florida should have been a wake-up call to the problems with this system. The potential for the Electoral College to disenfranchise the popular vote in the 2012 election is potentially even stronger.
With seven swing states up for grabs and irregularities and fraud already popping up in (you guessed it) Florida, the potential is there for either candidate to win the popular vote but lose the electoral vote. Our election system needs to be popular-vote-based if it is to reflect the true wishes of the American people.
Otherwise, the popular vote is potentially meaningless in presidential elections.