What is the purpose of the Electoral College system?

Answer 1

The electoral college was mainly used because people in congress felt that the voters didn't have proper knowledge on who they were voting for. It isn't needed as much anymore because more people are more educated on the people running for president.

Answer 2

The purpose of the US Electoral College has become less pronounced over the years and many people now feel that its purpose has been defeated entirely. However, it now serves as a mediator between the people and the government.

Abraham Lincoln may have said, "and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth" but the Founding Fathers did not believe in the people nearly as much. In fact, the only office that the people elected was the House of Representatives. Senators were chosen by each State, and the electoral College choose the president.

So, the purpose of the electoral college is to act as a buffer for the common man. The Founding Fathers didn't believe that the common person could make an intelligent decision. If the people chose poorly, the electoral college could choose differently. In this way, the position of president was protected from uninformed or illegally influenced voters.

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The current system does not provide any real check on the "mobs." There have been 22,000 electoral votes cast since presidential elections became competitive (in 1796), and only 10 have been cast for someone other than the candidate nominated by the elector's own political party. The electors are dedicated party activists of the winning party who meet briefly in mid-December to cast their totally predictable votes in accordance with their pre-announced pledges.

The U.S. Supreme Court has upheld state laws guaranteeing faithful voting by presidential electors (because the states have plenary power over presidential electors).

Answer 3

In theory, if the US voters have turned out to be a bunch of fools, and have voted for a terrible person as President, the electors of the electoral college have the option of ignoring the wishes of the voters who appointed them, and voting in some other person as President. The probability that this would ever actually happen is so small as to be entirely negligible. So the electoral college really has no purpose. It is a remnant of an earlier time, when it seemed to make sense as a last-minute precaution against the foolishness of the general public.

Answer 4

http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_purpose_does_the_electoral_college_serve_today"

Answer 5

The role of the electoral college is to make the formal selection of the nation's president. In the US, The President and Vice President are actually not elected directly by the voters.

Answer 6

The Electoral College elects the President of the United States. Representatives from each state place a ballot for president, based on how their state voted in popular elections.