tHIs is WhAT THe fOuNDErs Intended
my stated position on the framers and the electoral college is that "intent" doesn't really factor into it and that the EC was a last-minute kludge by exhausted delegates meant to guarantee the election of george washington and nothing else.
every subsequent explanation for the electoral college — "it's meant to give small states a voice, it's meant to give rural areas a voice" — is an after-the-fact partisan justification that has ascended to the realm of folk civics
and of course, the "electoral college" that we use isn't really in the constitution at all, it is a contingent development of partisan politics in the 1820s and 1830s
this is right. as madison and a few others imagined it, electors would winnow the field of candidates for president to a manageable number, none of whom would get a majority. the election would then be decided in the house.
the interesting thing is that we do have institutions which perform the function of fielding a single candidate for national office out of a large, diverse country: political parties.
