Letter: Electoral College is no sign of democracy

Wednesday, May 31, 2006 | 7:22 a.m.

As much as it pains me to agree with his conclusion, Bill Scott is absolutely correct when he states, as he did in his letter of May 27, that the popular vote has never elected any president of the United States. Just think about that for a minute. It is not the will of the people that determines who governs this country, it is the majority of 538 votes cast in the Electoral College.

Why do we have an Electoral College? Is it perhaps that the Founding Fathers didn't trust the will of the American people in 1788? Many times it has been said that democracy can't work without an educated populace. Is it possible that the Founding Fathers realized the lack of an educated populace and established a buffer zone just in case the popular vote went wrong?

The American Heritage Dictionary defines democracy as: "Government by the people, exercised either directly or through elected representatives." We are sending young men and women to Iraq for the purpose of advancing the cause of democracy in that region. I'm not aware of anything in the current Iraq Constitution that allows for the desire of certain regions of the country to prevail over the will of the people as a whole. Isn't it ironic that Americans fighting there have and could die for something that isn't available to them in their own country?

The Electoral College has on occasion - the latest time being 2000 - thwarted the will of the people. Consider that as few as 20 states control enough electoral votes to elect the president. In a country that is the leading advocate of democracy around the world, it's absurd that the will of the people can be so abused.

If the United States wants to continue championing democracy, it's time we demonstrated our commitment to such. It's time to abolish the Electoral College.

Terry E. Peele, Las Vegas