I read Mr. Fossel’s column each week. I usually do not agree with what he says, but last week’s nonsense about the Electoral College (“Like it or not, Electoral College is effective,” Jan. 21) has forced me to write this. He claims there is no legitimate national popular vote because electoral laws differ from state to state.

Next, he claims the Electoral College is an “effective way to elect” a president in a democracy. By definition, a democracy means everyone’s vote counts. But under the Electoral College system, a candidate could theoretically win an election by only winning 11 states. An extreme example: Candidate A wins 11 states by one vote each but receives no votes in any other state. He still would become president.

Fossel next claims that some Democrats considered the 2016 election illegitimate because Russia may have interfered. That concern was valid, but the election result was not denied. Next is a statement that there cannot be a popular vote if one of the candidates is not allowed to be on the ballot in some states, and compares that to staged elections in Russia and Hong Kong. Because there is a 14th Amendment, there is precedent for not allowing someone to be on the ballot.

And, I will finish with his theoretical comment that the states could make it impossible to determine a popular vote winner by allocating their electoral votes contrary to the local outcome. However, if there is no Electoral College, there are no electoral votes to allocate.

Terry Caldwell
Cumberland Center

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