|
One major reason behind it is it makes corruption more difficult. Say I bribe a voting commissioner in my district and add 100,000 false votes for my guy into the system. Under a straight popular vote, I've added exactly 100,000 votes. Under the electoral college, I have swung exactly one state. Doesn't matter if I add a hundred thousand or a million, I still only get that one state's vote in the electoral college. To really make a difference I would need to bribe voting commissioners in multiple states, which is much harder.
On the other hand, when elections are as close as they've been in recent years, one state is usually all that matters nowadays.
|