Something needs to be done about our election system, specifically, the "electoral college". Some people would like to do away with it but given the present form of our government and they way the president is elected, that would probably not be a good idea. Some say that its elimination would disenfranchise voters from the smaller states and that they would not bother to vote. This is a valid point however one letter writer to this morning's Chronicle points out a greater danger in the current system whereby it is possible for a presidential candidate to carry only 11 states by a slim margin, and win enough electoral votes to become president. How would the people in the other 39 states feel about that.

Given the political reality of the situation I don't expect the electoral college to be eliminated any time soon but there is a way to overcome the inequities of the current system. In today's Chronicle there is an excellent article about the folly of the winner-take-all system that we now have. The title of the article is "Why Your Vote Matters Less" and should be read by all voters. Unfortunately, I am pessimistic and doubt that our political leaders will have the guts to change even this system.