Letter: Electoral College serves good purpose

For those who are claiming the Electoral College should be eliminated, they should first understand why it was created in the first place.

It was to create a buffer between population and the selection of a president and to give extra power to the smaller states. Giving power to the smaller states would prevent states like New York and California from dominating the election process because of their large population. It would provide fair power to all states regardless of its size and population.

Each state receives the number of electors in the Electoral College that it has elected officials in Congress: one per House of Representatives member and one per Senator. In addition, the 23rd Amendment to the Constitution allows the District of Columbia three electors.

It has worked for more than 240 years and in order to change it would necessitate a constitutional amendment requiring ratification by two-thirds of all the states. I doubt smaller states would give up their right to having a say in who is elected president of the United States.

This story was originally published November 17, 2016 at 2:28 PM with the headline "Letter: Electoral College serves good purpose."