Next week, the Electoral College will meet. One question in the air is whether the electors should simply cast their votes for whichever candidate “won” their state, or whether they should exercise independent judgment. To answer that question, we must begin at the beginning.

Why do we have an Electoral College? Why not just count up the votes nationally and declare the candidate who receives the most votes President of the United States. That is, after all, how we select governors within each state, so why not do the same for the president?

At least three considerations led the Framers of our Constitution to embrace the idea of the Electoral College.

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