Letter: The Electoral College doesn’t help small states anyway — so let’s abolish it

Elector John William Bickel puts his ballot in an envelope at the Hawaii State Capitol after voting for President-elect Joe Biden in the Electoral College in Honolulu on Monday, Dec. 14, 2020. | Audrey McAvoy, Associated Press

I know many people love the Electoral College, as demonstrated by Steve Jones’ letter to the editor (“Letter: If Utah wants a say in presidential elections, the Electoral College is a must,” Nov. 30). Not to disparage the Founding Fathers, but the EC was hardly the product of “experienced men who understood human values and tendencies.”

James Madison claimed that the EC was a shoddy piece of work done while delegates were exhausted and wanting to go home. It was, in fact, a compromise between nationalists and confederationists — you know, the ones who defended slavery and racial segregation. Madison fully expected the EC to change via constitutional amendment, and I think there have been maybe 900 efforts since 1800 to change it.

Today, 58% of Americans believe the Constitution should be amended to allow a popular vote. Why is this even controversial? Some states — small ones — think they’ll be overwhelmed by, yes, voters. But as it stands now, no one pays attention to Utah or even Wyoming — and certainly not California. They look to “swing” states where all the money and effort goes.

I have voted both Republican and Democrat in the past. We should welcome the fairness of one person-one vote in our country.

Katharine Biele

Salt Lake City

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