Luella E. Cole: Trump right, Electoral College a disaster for democracy
Nearly every commentator and letter writer on the outcome of the 2016 Presidential election has missed the most significant factor in the election of Donald Trump. The truth is that Hillary Clinton won this election. She received 47.6 percent of the popular vote to Trump’s 47.2 percent. She had a plurality of 395,050 popular votes with more than 3 million still to count in California.
The most significant issue in the outcome of the 2016 election, just as it was in 2000, is our antiquated, undemocratic and inexplicable method of choosing our presidents: the Electoral College. Five times in the history of the United States, the winner of the popular vote did not become President due to the provisions of the Electoral College: 1824, 1876, and 1888, as well as twice now within the last two decades.
The reasons for the inclusion of the Electoral College in the Constitution in 1787 no longer exist. Yet it is still thwarting the will of the people. After the 2012 election, one prominent person called the Electoral College “a disaster for democracy.” Ironically, that person was Donald J. Trump.
Luella E. Cole, Modesto
This story was originally published November 11, 2016 at 3:12 PM with the headline "Luella E. Cole: Trump right, Electoral College a disaster for democracy."