18-Year-Old Starts Petition to Reform Electoral College

A Mt. San Jacinto College student is on a quest to reform the Electoral College method used to determine the winner of U.S. presidential races.

Murrieta resident Alek Robbins, 18, who graduated from Fallbrook High School, said he became inspired to petition the White House on the issue after watching the recent presidential election unfold.

"This was my first election I was able to exercise my right to vote. And I was sure to do so," Robbins said, in a message to Patch. "I am so interested in politics because we have a say about who will be the commander in chief and president for our great nation."

The Electoral College is a Constitutional compromise between election of the president by a vote in Congress and election of the president by a popular vote, according to Archives.gov. It consists of 538 electors; each state is entitled to electors equaling the number of its Congressional delegates.

California is the state with the largest number of electoral votes at 55.

A majority of 270 electoral votes is required to elect the president.

In Tuesday's election, President Barack Obama won 303 of electoral votes, while Gov. Mitt Romney won 206. Obama also won the popular vote.

"I know many presidents win both electoral and popular votes but this has also raised some issues," Robbins said.

"This specific issue is important to me because the electoral college has made voters feel their voice isn't heard due to certain states' electoral votes always going the same way. This has made voter turn out less and less.

"If the U.S. were to base the election off of the majority rule it would encourage everyone legally allowed to vote to do so."

Robbins' petition can be found on the White House's website at http://wh.gov/912I.

"This petition has nothing against either candidate in this recent election. It is just a cause I am passionate about," Robbins said. "Politics will always be a part of our great nation so we should all be as active as possible to make sure our voice is heard."