Karl Samp, Brainerd, Minn.
I agree with the Tice column on the validity of the Electoral College. I am a committed Democrat and will welcome a Kamala Harris win; I was heartbroken by Hillary Clinton’s loss; I rued Al Gore’s loss to George Bush. However, I feel that the Wyomings, Dakotas, Utahs and even the Maines and Vermonts need to feel that they are an integral part of the presidential election system and not just bystanders to California and New York — or to Philadelphia and Baltimore and Minneapolis.
David Kehm, Des Moines, Iowa
I’m so tired of people arguing in support of keeping the Electoral College because without it, candidates would only care about campaigning in, as Tice described it, “densely populated areas,” while the existence of the Electoral College requires them to “seek to win in many different places.” He apparently doesn’t realize that because of the current system, campaigns are focusing almost entirely on seven swing states — Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Georgia, Michigan, Wisconsin, Arizona and Nevada. The fact that I can easily name them off the top of my head should tell you something. How is that any better? Our friends around the world have trouble grasping how one candidate can get more votes than the other but still not win. And I agree that it makes no sense. The time to end the Electoral College system is now.
