Don't Fear What You Don't Understand

We're fans of the Electoral College (see this piece we wrote on it 6 years ago.) As complicated as it may seem, we feel it was put there for some very sound reasons, and to remove it would be shortsighted.

The paragraph below is as good a summary as any about why the Electoral College was put into the constitution.

"So rather that trying to eviscerate the Electoral College, we should be embracing it. It was put in the Constitution to allow states to choose presidents, for we are a republic based on the separation of powers, not a direct democracy. And the Electoral College--just like the Senate--was intended to protect the residents of small states. As James Madison said, the Electoral College included the will of the nation--every congressional district gets an electoral vote--and "the will of the states in their distinct and independent capacities" since every state gets two additional electors." Via opinionjournal.com

If you're a dork like us and interested in such things we recommend you read the whole essay. The author makes some goofy arguments, and engages in some partisan paranoia, but on the whole it’s a good defense of a complicated (and thus misunderstood) cog within our electoral machine.