By Katie M.
West Virginia, Age 7
Ever hear electoral college while flipping through the stations? Ever wander what it means? I am hear to answer that. The elector college is made up of a group of electors. They are the ones who decided the president. It was invented in the 17 or 1800's. Those people thought the citizens of America didn't know who really was the best candidate so a group of electors made that informed decision.
But it has changed. Now the people make the decision. Here is how it works-
The majority(or more than 50%) of the people in California voted for Al Gore. California has 54 electors because it is such a populous state. So every elector for California voted for Al Gore. So now Al Gore has 54 electoral college votes.
A candidate for president must have 270 elector college votes. Right now, neither George W. Bush or Al Gore have that number. The only undecided state is Florida, which has 25 electoral college votes. Whichever candidate wins Florida becomes president.
Many people don't like this system because the popular vote, or the total number of votes the whole country has, doesn't decide the winner. It is the electoral college.
Some people say it gives smaller states a bigger voice, but I disagree with that. I believe it gives larger states, such as California and Florida, a bigger voice. If we determined the winner by the popular vote, everybody's voice would be equal.
If you wanted to vote for Al Gore but lived in Texas, which Bush won by a lot of votes, your vote wouldn't really matter. Or if you wanted to vote for George W. Bush but lived in Washington D.C., which Gore won by a lot, your vote would not count either.
So which is more fair, electoral college or whoever has the most vote wins? We might never know...