Every four years, people head to the polls to vote for the next President of the United States. However, the popular vote doesn't directly elect any candidate. Instead, citizens are voting for a slate of electors, who have promised to cast their states' votes after the general election. Today, the Electoral College system is very controversial, leading many people to ask: why does it exist at all? That answer lies in the history of the Constitution and how its creators originally believed America's brand-new government should run and how its leader should be elected. As it turns out, the Electoral College was just as contentious in 1787 as it is today.
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