In short, nobody in 1787-88 thought of the electors as anything but what they are today—faceless hacks whose ideas and judgment are neither wanted nor permitted. I’ve been present when electoral candidates were selected; the main criteria were party loyalty and patronage. Wisdom is seldom sought after, and would be pretty much useless.In fact, for all the nobility ascribed to it today, the real reason for the system is simply this: some states didn’t want to let most of their people vote.
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