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From: geb@cadre.UUCP
Newsgroups: net.legal
Subject: Re: Electoral college
Message-ID: <105@cadre.UUCP>
Date: Tue, 11-Dec-84 16:49:58 EST
Article-I.D.: cadre.105
Posted: Tue Dec 11 16:49:58 1984
Date-Received: Fri, 14-Dec-84 05:47:49 EST
References: <301@bonnie.UUCP> <6782@watdaisy.UUCP>, <196@harvard.ARPA>
Organization: Decision Systems Lab., Univ. of Pgh.
Lines: 14

I believe the electoral college was created because initially
it was thought that the states should elect the president,
and not by popular vote.  During the early days of the US
the example of the popular hysteria that swept France after
their revolution was on everyone's mind and most of the
founding fathers did not trust the people's ability to
withstand demagoguery.  The electoral college gives a little
more power to the less populous states and thus preserves some
regionalism.  It would be almost impossible to do away with
the system, since the constitutional amendment necessary would
fail to pass 3/4 of the state legislatures, since it would
enhance the power of the large population states at the expense
of the majority of small population states.