2020 US election - It Came from Washington DC

[Dartz]

The idea behind the electoral college is sound - it is supposed to stop the big states dominating.

The winner-takes-all implimentation almost everyone has settled on is fairly bollocks though. It makes a few states super important. It also means you can get a result way out of line of the popular vote and you can only do that so many times, or to such a degree, before you risk public ructions.

Surely a few clever 'safe' states might consider to earn themselves some extra promises by offering to split the vote in proportion.

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We use a PR system for our presidency, with candidates proposed by a mix of local authority and political party nominations. It's a lot more stable.

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Has there ever been a faithless elector? Aren't these just a formality?

It's amusing. The desire for, and fear of, faithless electors trades hands depending on whose in the lead.

EDIT: Oh wow - it's actually reasonably common. Mostly as a protest of some sort rather than actually overturning the result.