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The year was 1787, and the Framers were hard at work in Philadelphia crafting our current Constitution to replace our first one—the Articles of Confederation. Under the Articles of Confederation, the nation was governed by a committee. It was nothing short of a mess that needed to be replaced to ensure the long-term survival of our young nation.

Among the many problems the delegates sought to correct was the absence of a strong, independent executive. So, of course, one of the most pressing questions during the Constitutional Convention was what method would be used to select the president. Many ideas were considered, including a popular vote and even a parliamentary system in which Congress would select the president. Delegates from smaller states were particularly concerned about representation. 

After weeks of heated debate and failed proposals, the delegates needed a compromise. Near the end of the convention, a committee including James Madison devised the Electoral College as the ultimate compromise that would minimize the risk of corruption and regionalism. Alexander Hamilton summed the system up perfectly in the Federalist Papers when he said: "I venture somewhat further, and hesitate not to affirm that if the manner of it be not perfect, it is at least excellent. It unites in an eminent degree all the advantages the union of which was to be desired.”

At the time of the first census in 1790, the U.S. population was just under 4,000,000. 80.7% were white (mostly Anglo-Saxon,) 17.8% were enslaved Blacks, and 1.5% consisted of free persons of color. Since only property-owning white males over the age of 21 were eligible to vote at the time, only 6% of the population participated in presidential elections.

The Electoral College was essential even in a time when the voting population was small and racially and religiously homogeneous. It protected the interests of voters in both small and large states and forced presidential candidates to build broad coalitions.

Now fast-forward to 2026—America has a population of more than 340,000,000. Most Americans over the age of 18 are eligible to vote; we have a large, mostly unaccounted-for illegal immigrant population, and blue states like California encourage voter fraud by passing laws that ban localities from implementing voter ID requirements.

The Electoral College’s ability to isolate election fraud to individual states has become a vital feature. A vote from a Chicago cemetery can’t affect Missouri’s election results. For many reasons, America is much more divided than it was in the late 18th century. Our system prevents candidates from simply running up the score in dense urban centers. Without it, the country would likely balkanize.

In many ways, America is a very different country from the one our Founding Fathers created, but due to constitutional structures like the Electoral College, it still stands. If America has any hope of surviving for another 250 years, we must keep the very thing that enabled us to make it this far.