On November 5, the United States will hold its presidential election, and, as usual, criticism of the Electoral College is a prominent topic of discussion.
The idea behind this complex system is to prevent larger, more populous states from overpowering smaller ones. However, electoral campaigns have increasingly become more of a race to win the so-called “Swing States” rather than a means of gaining support across the entire country. In effect, this system creates “first-class” citizens in swing states, where the majority of campaign funds and efforts are directed, and “second-class” citizens who live in states where the outcome is nearly guaranteed and thus are almost ignored during the campaign.