To the editor:

In response to a letter regarding the disbanding of the Electoral College, I felt a fair rebuttal necessary.

First, America is not a sole democracy. Our Pledge of Allegiance clearly states “and to the Republic for which it stands.” The United States is a republic, specifically a democratic-republic, not a sole democracy as many of our citizens believe. And an important part of our republic is the Electoral College.

The Electoral College was put in place by the Founders for our safety. If we are to elect a president by popular vote, citizens deciding the fate of the election would be those from the largest cities: Los Angeles, Chicago, New York. That would be a gross misrepresentation of the citizenry of our nation.

If we elected a president by popular vote, there would be no need for a presidential candidate to care about those from Montana, Indiana or even Missouri.

If in the 2016 presidential election we used the popular vote, individual voters and their votes in Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania would never have mattered, their voices never heard.

You see, the Electoral College encourages coalition building and national campaigning as we witnessed with President Trump in 2016 flipping the “blue wall.”

If a candidate wishes to win the presidency, the candidate needs diverse groups of voters to win. The candidate cannot rely on only one part of the country for support.

If the Electoral College were disbanded, the votes of Missourians may never matter again. Ask yourself, are you OK with your voice never being heard?

Rob Uthoff
Oakville

Editor’s note: Mr. Uthoff is a high school history teacher.