ABSTRACT
Why did our founding fathers see fit to create the Electoral College as a means to decide presidential elections in the United States? One answer is that they did not believe that the populous could be trusted with such an important decision. In the 18th century, the country was sparsely populated and there was no technology to spread information about presidential candidates to voters everywhere. The members of the Electoral College could journey to the nation’s capital to become informed about the candidates, and through these electors the people of the nation could have a voice, if indirectly, in the presidential election. Direct election of the president by popular vote was also seen as a threat to the separation of powers between the three branches of government, and some worried that it would accord too much power to the executive branch and lead to tyranny.
