I've learned that there were two reasons for adopting the Electoral College.
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WHY THE ELECTORAL COLLEGE
Why the Electoral College
The Electoral College was created for two reasons. The first purpose was to
create a buffer between the population and the selection of a President. The second as part of the structure of the government that
gave extra power to the smaller states.
The first reason that the founders created the Electoral College is hard to understand today. The founding fathers were afraid of direct election to the Presidency. They feared a tyrant could manipulate public opinion and come to power. Hamilton wrote in the Federalist Papers:
It was equally desirable, that the immediate election should be made by men most capable of analyzing the qualities adapted to the station, and acting under circumstances favorable to deliberation, and to a judicious combination of all the reasons and inducements which were proper to govern their choice. A small number of persons, selected by their fellow-citizens from the general mass, will be most likely to possess the information and discernment requisite to such complicated investigations. It was also peculiarly desirable to afford as little opportunity as possible to tumult and disorder. This evil was not least to be dreaded in the election of a magistrate, who was to have so important an agency in the administration of the government as the President of the United States. But the precautions which have been so happily concerted in the system under consideration, promise an effectual security against this mischief.
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My interpretation of this first reason includes the fact that there was no good way for citizens to know much about the presidential candidates.No telegraph, no telephone, no daily national newspapers, no TV, no internet, etc. They might be much more likely to know and trust local electors. This of course is much different today but only if we maintain freedom of the press. Trump is trying hard to do away with this constitutional right.
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The Electoral College is also part of compromises made at the convention to satisfy the small states. Under the system of the Electoral College, each state had the same number of electoral votes as they have a representative in Congress. Thus no state could have less than 3.
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This is your point and it is justified. But so is the first one. With far better information about the national candidates today I think it's not as applicable now as it was in the late 1700's. But then maybe it is because we have seen in Trump's election the very thing occur that the founding fathers were afraid of, the election of a "tyrant could manipulate public opinion and come to power."
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There are two other important things about the Electoral College. The first is the
electors are not required by the constitution to vote for the candidate receiving the most votes in their state. This hasn't happened very often but it is constitutional. Another important point is that since under the Electoral College voters vote for a slate of electors not for a candidate,
if there are more than one slate of electors supporting a candidate the vote for that candidate is divided. The votes for different slates of electors supporting the same candidate are not added together. A good example of this occured in the late 60's / early 70's when blacks formed separate Democratic parties in the South and then challenged the national party at the convention.
So what's to be done about this. Doing away with the Electoral College would require a vote of 3/4 of the states. That's unlikely. Another option is:
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One way of modifying the system is to
eliminate the winner take all part of it. The method that the states vote for the Electoral College is not mandated by the constitution but is decided by the states. Two states do not use the winner take all system, Maine and Nebraska. It would be difficult but not impossible to get other states to change their systems. Unfortunately, the party that has the advantage in the state is unlikely to agree to a unilateral change. There are ongoing attempts to change the system, but few expect them to be successful any time soon.
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The more I think about it the more I support maintaining the Electoral College with these conditions:
1. Require that the electors vote for the candidate receiving the most votes in their state.
2. If there are more than one slates of electors supporting a candidate require that their votes be added together, and
3. Do away with the winner take all system and allocate the electoral vote for a state according to the number of votes.
All of these changes are constitutional and could be implemented now.