Wow a former mayor and lawyer with such a poor grasp of the reason for and the actual exercise of the Electoral College. It's really simple Daryl Finizio, first of all some states were large and consisted of large population centers. This meant that smaller states with an equal interest in who held the strings of power would become quickly marginalized by the large populous states. The college was a way to ensure the president, whose original job was primarily as a check on power, would require broad support nationwide, not just from narrow politically powerful cities. (Almost all of Hillary Clinton's popular votes came from two states, California and New York) 

Secondly, after earlier occasions in which Electoral College members voted against state wishes many, if not most states and parties, codified the requirement for them to faithfully follow the will of their voters. And of course there is that minor issue in which electors are in fact usually senior party members vested in following the voters’ wishes. 

We hear the call of the left to abolish the Electoral College, yet they fear marginalization of voters, but a popular election of the president would marginalize the majority of the country. Maybe it’s time to fix the imperial presidency.

Edward Jones

Montville