How can "we the people"?

Question

Change the consitiution to get rid of

the electoral college. It is time to let

the people decide who is President.

Answer 1

We the people should try to maintain our Constitution and not further dilute the dreams of our founding fathers.

Answer 2

You poor deluded person! The Founding Fathers of our country gave us a Representative Democracy within a Republic and it is the residue of that Republic that has alowed this country to last this long! The bankrupt theory that our Constitution is a 'living document' is being used to promote our once great Republic as a degenerate Democracy. Before the 17th Amendment was passed, Senators were appointed by the Legislatures of the States rather than elected by the people. Because they were political appointees they could be 'Elder Statesmen [women]' and could be objective in the consideration of Bills. In theory, no lobbyists or PACs could bribe them and if they tried they could all be dealt with as the criminals they wohld be! Now, since the passage of the 17th Amendment, Senators are beholding to the fickle whims of the people whose vote they must get to be re-elected: a necessarily degenerate Democracy! The lobbyists and PACs offer buckets of money to help them get that vote! Democracy is always degenerate because people vote to support their own motivated self interest or what the demagogue, lobbyist or PAC of the minute has convinced them is their motivated self interest and so is reduced to its lowest common denominator! Democracy is a necessarily degenerate form of government that inevitably reduces itself to the lowest common denominator ie. 'Mob Rule'. Now we have horribly misguided people like you calling for the abolition of the Electorial College thus sweeping away the last vestage of Republic! Our country was designed and intended as a Republic back in 1787 and it is the residue of that Republic that has allowed us to last this long...

Answer 3

The electoral college does not protect the smaller states. I personally think it is stupid. I think one person's vote should count as one vote. As a Republican in California, everytime I vote for President, I know it isn't worth a darn. I pretty much go to vote for local and state issues. Even though hundreds of thousands of Republicans in California casts their vote, all 52 electoral votes will go to Obama. In order to change the constitution, you'd have to pass an ammendment, which requires either 2/3 of a majority in Congress or 3/4 ratification by the state legislatures... not an easy thing to do.

Answer 4

Article V of the U.S. Constitution outlines how to amend the Constitution:

"The Congress, whenever two thirds of both Houses shall deem it necessary, shall propose Amendments to this Constitution, or, on the Application of the Legislatures of two thirds of the several States, shall call a Convention for proposing Amendments, which, in either Case, shall be valid to all Intents and Purposes, as part of this Constitution, when ratified by the Legislatures of three fourths of the several States, or by Conventions in three fourths thereof, as the one or the other Mode of Ratification may be proposed by the Congress; Provided that no Amendment which may be made prior to the Year One thousand eight hundred and eight shall in any Manner affect the first and fourth Clauses in the Ninth Section of the first Article; and that no State, without its Consent, shall be deprived of its equal Suffrage in the Senate."

In other words, you, as one of the "We the people...", need to contact your Congressman about this.

Answer 5

The reason for the Electoral College is still in existence.

It protects the smaller states against the tyranny of the largest states.

Find a solution to that, and you have it.  Until then, this argument comes up every election cycle, and it remains silly.

Our founders saw reason to protect the smaller states from such a tyranny of votes.  I'm grateful they did, and I live in one of the BIG ones!