This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2011, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Election season is in gear, and we're starting to hear reports about presidential candidates' ads in states with important primaries, like Iowa and New Hampshire. That's to be expected, but as the campaigns turn national, it would be nice if Utahns were given the respect of being U.S. citizens by having the candidates seriously campaign for our votes.
Not gonna happen. Utah's going to vote for the Republican candidate so why should either party waste money educating and persuading voters here?
It's not just small states with few electoral votes that are ignored. Big ones, too, like California, New York and Texas.
It's crazy that campaigns for our nationwide office aren't national campaigns where every voter is courted equally. But such is the result of the Electoral College that only a few swing states are included in the national debate.
If we eliminated the Electoral College and picked our president by direct election as we do our governors, then every voter would matter — Republicans in California and Democrats in Utah.
Then there would be national advertising campaigns, and we wouldn't have to overhear what candidates are saying by watching YouTube clips or outtakes on Fox News or MSNBC.
Randy Tolman
Salt Lake City