Should the United States replace the Electoral College with direct election using the instant runoff system?
Some argue that the Electoral College system is a relic of an earlier, less democratic era and that it should be scrapped before it elects another presidential candidate who “loses” the popular vote. Perhaps the most obvious substitute for the Electoral College would be direct election using the plurality system. In a plurality system, the candidate receiving more votes than any other candidate is declared the winner, even if the candidate received less than a majority of the vote. Another possible substitute for the Electoral College would be an “instant runoff” system. Instant Runoff allows voters to rank candidates as their first choice, second choice, third, fourth and so on. If a candidate does not receive a clear majority of votes on the first count, a series of runoff counts are conducted, using each voters top choices indicated on the ballot. The candidate who received the fewest first place ballots is eliminated. The ballots are then retabulated, with each counting as a vote f
