Letter: Voters’ right to choose limited

Saturday, Nov. 25, 2000 | 2:40 a.m.

When will our officials in Washington realize that the residents of these United States have the intelligence to be able to properly vote for the candidate they want to be their president? This nation is not like Russia, Nazi Germany, Cuba and other dictatorial nations where the legislature says who shall rule the nation. If you think about it, is not the Electoral College taking away our right to choose? It already happened in the past.

Abraham Lincoln said that this is a nation of the people, by the people and for the people. He did not say American states with 25, 54 or 4 votes, representing their Electoral College strength.

What kind of an example of true democracy are we showing the rest of the world by intimating that the voice of the American people cannot be trusted to elect a leader of this great nation of ours? There were 500,000 who died in the Civil War to make this "one nation," not separate states with individual powers. Do away with the Electoral College, for it takes the right away from the people to elect a president. It has happened in our past and could happen again.

JOE MENDELSON

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