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According to Wikipedia, the Electoral College was established by Article II, Section 1, Clause 3 of the United States Constitution. It has therefore been a working part of the governing of our Republic since the Constitutional Convention. The method of its administration has changed a few times since then and is now in the hands of the National Archives and Records Administration by way of its Office of the Federal Register. Essentially, the election of our President and Vice President is in the hands of 538 strangers whose vote is overseen by an office many Americans have probably never heard of and certainly don't influence. If that's not bad enough, there are other reasons to object to this particular institution.

The most common argument in favor of retaining the Electoral College is that it makes the playing field more level for states with smaller populations. Apparently their votes are supposed to be just as influential as those from larger states. It is not clear why this would be the case; why should a less-populated state be able to control what happens to a more populous one? Furthermore, the idea doesn't stand up well to scrutiny. Why are there 538 electors in the Electoral College? There are 538 Representatives in Congress. How is the number of Representatives determined? It is based on the population of a state. Naturally there will be fewer Representatives from North Dakota than from, say, California. Therefore there will be fewer electors from that state appointed to the Electoral College, so North Dakota still won't get as many votes as California to decide who becomes President. How is this leveling the playing field?

I think it is telling that when the Constitution was ratified, the northern states were more populated than the southern ones, which is still true today. The major decision-makers involved in writing the Constitution were from Virginia and northwards. People were just as capable of provincialism back then as they are today, and the Founders would not have been above ensuring extra benefits for their own states above benefits for the nation as a whole. They were only human, after all.

The other point frequently brought up in defense of the Electoral College is that it's acceptable to continue using it because we're not a democracy anyway, but a republic. Well, I'm looking at the various definitions of "republic" right now on Dictionary.com. One defines the word as meaning a nation not led by a monarch. Another definition refers to

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