Small states are protected by the Electoral College

Re “Electoral College undermines democracy” letter by Subhash C. Saxena.

The writer of the opinion, a Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Mathematics at Coastal Carolina University, believes an election based on the popular vote should determine who is elected president. He states that the Electoral College is based on the premise that in the 18^th century, when the system was established, the determining factor was that people living in one state, such as a Southern state, may not know much about a candidate from a Northern state, and vice versa. One of the additional factors against a popular vote, at that time, was the fear that the electorate could fall under the persuasion of a tyrant or other figure of authority.

However, there was a second reason for the Electoral College. The smaller states, and the states with a large agricultural economy but smaller populations, were fearful of being disenfranchised by the coastal states with the larger population centers. Thus, these states would always determine who would be president.

This certainly would have been the case in 2016, had the election been based on popular vote rather than the Electoral College. The Northeastern coastal states and California, with their very large Democratic Party populist, would have determined the outcome of the election.

Those of us in the less populated states would have had a very diminished effect on the election, if any at all.

This story was originally published December 16, 2016 at 7:53 AM with the headline "Small states are protected by the Electoral College."