Drop Electoral College

Jay Evensen's column (Oct. 19) defends the Electoral College for presidential elections. I'd like to provide some arguments against the use of the archaic, outdated Electoral College.

First, the current system forces candidates to visit "key battleground states" like Ohio and Florida repeatedly in order to gain electoral votes. While this kind of special attention might be flattering for residents of these states, it is really unnecessary. The candidates' positions are well-described on their Web sites, in the print media and through televised debates.

Second, Al Gore won the popular vote but lost the election to George Bush thanks to a very few votes in Florida. Ignoring the popular vote and letting a few "battleground" states decide the 2000 election via the Electoral College probably did not serve the national interest.

The best solution would be to abandon the Electoral College and let presidential elections be decided based on the popular vote. Governors are elected by the popular vote. A thousand votes in Ohio should not be more valuable than a thousand votes in Utah or Massachusetts.

John D. Kriesel

Holladay