Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.2 9/18/84; site harvard.ARPA Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!burl!ulysses!allegra!mit-eddie!godot!harvard!marie From: marie@harvard.ARPA (Marie Desjardins) Newsgroups: net.legal Subject: Re: Electoral college Message-ID: <196@harvard.ARPA> Date: Sun, 9-Dec-84 17:34:20 EST Article-I.D.: harvard.196 Posted: Sun Dec 9 17:34:20 1984 Date-Received: Tue, 11-Dec-84 03:20:21 EST References: <301@bonnie.UUCP> <6782@watdaisy.UUCP> Organization: Aiken Computation Laboratory, Harvard Lines: 20 > Technically, the electors can vote for anyone they wish. There was even a > recent occasion (1968 I think) when an elector voted differently from the > way he had pledged, and his actual vote counted (but didn't affect the > results). > > Electors are supposed to vote the way the voters did in their states, and > sometimes a state has two sets of potential electors so that they can choose > the appropriate set after seeing how their voters have chosen. And you > though software was kludgy. I understand (as well as it's possible to understand, I guess!) how the electoral college system works. But can anyone explain why this system was created? (historically) and why we continue to use it, if it's for outmoded reasons? (e.g. early in the history of the U.S. it would've been real difficult for everyone to send their votes to be counted via Pony Express :-) but I doubt that's a problem now...) Nobody I've ever asked (including lawyers, Gov majors, etc...) seems to know the answer. Marie desJardins marie@harvard