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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