Why was the electoral college establshed?

Answer 1

The prospect of directly electing the ruler of a nation was simply unheard of at the time. Most plans introduced at the constitutional convention called for Congress to elect the president, but the Framers ultimately decided that arrangement was too prone to corruption, and would weaken the executive if he owed his job to the legislative branch, so they instead designated a temporary "legislature" created for the sole purpose of choosing a president, and then dissolving. Some states held direct elections for their electors, even in the early days of the republic, though most simply appointed them through the state legislature. By 1824, most states had switched to popular elections as the method for choosing electors.

Answer 2

During that time, there was no formal mandatory education. Many people did not know how to read or write, and had difficulty understanding the complexities of their newly formed nation. For that reason, they needed to think about how to best elect a president. It should be recognized that most people would never leave the town in which they were born. How, then, would someone living in Virginia know how competent a person from Vermont might be?

To eliminate the possibility of electing someone who might not be the best person for the job, a solution was created the Electoral College. People would elect their representatives, who would be local. The governors would appoint the senators, who would best represent the state. These combined groups would each cast votes to elect the president. The citizens would vote first. Then, of the candidates who received the largest number of votes, the elected officials would cast their votes, thus ensuring the best leader possible became the President of the United States of America.

Many believe that the Electoral College has outlived its usefulness, since we now have the telephone, radio, television, and the internet. Whether or not it has, frankly, is irrelevant. Written in the Constitution of the United States of America is the method we use to elect the President. We have ways to amend the document, however, that has not occurred. Until that happens, we must follow the rules and accept the role the Electoral College serves in our election process.

Answer 3

The EC was set up as a compromise. Small states would have loved to go with one state one vote, since they were all equally independent at the time they had a point. Larger states (think MA at that time not CA and TX)would have liked to have proportional voting. And since they had the larger land mass, more population and there for more resources, they too had a point.

By giving one vote per senator and one for each seat in the H of R, no one got what they wanted, but all got some thing they could live with.

The country has grown, but it still seems like a good way to share the power.

Answer 4

The electoral college was formed because some people thought that regular voters wouldn't have enough information about each candidate

Answer 5

It was put in place to protect the rights of the smaller states.

Answer 6

So the minority (smaller states) would still have a voice in the elections process.

Answer 7

Electoral votes in the U.S. Electoral College determine the President and Vice President of the United States.

Answer 8

to moose the world