sing a president--except for all the others (Glennon 3)." However, according to the sensationalist propaganda that was mentioned earlier, there are three problems to the current Electoral College system. First, a president can be elected to office even if it is not what the people want. Second, electors are not punished for being unfaithful to what they have pledged. (At least not in 26 of the states) Finally the system for electing a president if no electoral majority is reached. Recognizing the strong regional interests and loyalties which have played so great a role in American history, the Electoral College system contributes to the cohesiveness of the country be requiring a distribution of popular support to be elected president. Without such a mechanism, the president would be selected either through the domination of one populous region over the others or through the domination of large metropolitan areas over the rural ones. Indeed, it is principally because of the Electoral College that presidential nominees are inclined to select vice presidential running mates from a region other than their own. For as things stand now, no one region contains the absolute majority (270) of electoral votes required to elect a president. Thus, there is an incentive for presidential candidates to pull together coalitions of States and regions rather than to exacerbate regional differences. Such a unifying mechanism seems especially prudent in view of the severe regional problems that have typically plagued geographically large nations such as China, India, the Soviet Union, and even, in its time, the Roman Empire. This unifying mechanism does not, however, come without a small price. The price is that in very close popular elections, it is possible that the candidate who wins a slight majority of popular votes may not be the one elected president - depending (as in the most recent election) on whether his popularity is concentrated in a few Sta...
