Driscoll letter: Electoral College

Regarding Robert Ehlert’s column on the Electoral College, Nov. 17, I followed your argument until you stated, “The Electoral College brought us Bush, Trump and, yes, Abraham Lincoln, who gathered only 39 percent of the popular vote.” On its face, the Lincoln percentage seems startling. However, it is a red herring and very misleading. Four parties got 12 or more percent of the popular vote in that election, unlike today’s two-party system. Lincoln won the popular vote and the Electoral College vote. I would argue that he won despite the Electoral College, where slaves generated representatives and thus additional electors for the slave-holding states.

This story was originally published November 29, 2016 at 11:24 PM with the headline "Driscoll letter: Electoral College."