Final answer:
A significant consequence of replacing the Electoral College with the popular vote could be a. smaller states losing influence, since candidates would likely focus on populous areas rather than catering to the interests of less populated regions.
Step-by-step explanation:
A possible consequence of using the popular vote instead of the Electoral College to determine the outcome of the presidential election is a. Smaller states losing influence.
This is because the Electoral College allocates electors to states partially based on their Senate representation, which ensures that even less populated states have a significant minimum level of representation.
In a popular vote system, candidates might focus mostly on heavily populated urban areas, diminishing the political significance of smaller states.
The Electoral College serves not just to elect a president but also to balance the influence among states. Replacing it with a popular vote system would likely make the presidential elections a numbers game focused in cities with the highest populations.
As the states with smaller populations would carry less weight comparatively, candidates may allot less attention to their concerns. This could impact policy representation and federal attention regional issues receive.