14. The Electoral College

Devised in a non-technological age to decrease voter fraud, the Electoral College essentially subordinates the votes of individuals into a single-state collective body. As recently as 2000, the Electoral College "usurped" the will of the people when it named George W. Bush president despite Democratic challenger Al Gore winning the popular vote. The Electoral College has created a political focus on "swing states," whose likely voters numbers are almost evenly split between Democrat and Republican. In 2012, the votes of these "swingers" will count for much more than the rest of us.