A letter from James Talbert (March 13) caused me to do some fact checking. He says “Time and time again we install presidents and vice presidents who did not receive the majority of votes.” The truth is there have only been five occasions out of our 59 presidential elections where that has occurred (to elect our total of 46 presidents). It happened in 2000 (Bush) and 2016 (Trump) but before that it was all the way back to 1888 (Harrison). So, to me, the Electoral College system in place has worked 91% of the time.
I have written about this issue before and am not yet convinced whether our current (winner-take-all) system needs to change. I kinda like Maine’s (and Nebraska) process of awarding (splitting?) electoral votes by Congressional District and statewide popular vote. That system seems to recognize the differences between the rural and built-up sections of the state. Talbert says Maine is in the process of enacting the National Popular Vote but my look at it showed the Maine bill was killed in 2019. If it is being revived perhaps Maine is changing its mind?
Gil Rogers
Bow