What would Hamilton say?

Re “Even the Founders hated the electoral college,” Opinion, Nov. 22

Joseph J. Ellis’ piece illustrates why conservatives should oppose the electoral college.

Conservative hero Alexander Hamilton ( yes, a conservative hero given mainstream appeal by the musical) made the case for selecting presidents with electoral votes by saying, “There will be a constant probability of seeing the station filled by characters preeminent for ability and virtue.” Even President Trump’s most avid supporters acknowledge this as his shortcoming.

Hamilton also argued that electors would “afford as little opportunity as possible to tumult and disorder.” Yet no two words better encapsulate the Trump presidency.

Conservatives should acknowledge that in 2016 the electoral college did the opposite of what the founders intended by empowering a demagogue when a national popular vote would have rejected him. And it almost happened again. Greg Bobrinskoy

El Cajon

Ellis states that Maine and Nebraska award their electoral votes “proportionally according to the popular vote within the state.”

In fact, they use what is usually referred to as the district plan, in which two electors are awarded to the statewide popular vote winner, and the rest of the votes are awarded according to the winner in each congressional district.

This means that any gerrymandering could not only affect representation in the House, but also how a state’s electoral votes are awarded. Norma Silverman

Los Angeles

If the president were elected by popular vote, it would be a lot less expensive for Trump to challenge the result in court. He would not have to file multiple lawsuits challenging the results.

Looking beyond the presidency, in some states, there are strongly debated issues on their ballots that help increase voter turnout. Other states with simpler ballots have poor turnout. The electoral college means that differing turnouts do not inf luence the election.

Hooray for the electoral college.

David E. Ross Oak Park