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Undated: The Electoral College system is a matter of ongoing debate, with some defending it and others calling for its abolition. Supporters of the Electoral College argue that it is fundamental to American federalism, that it requires candidates to appeal to voters outside large cities, increases the political influence of small states, discourages the excessive growth of political parties and preserves the two-party system, and makes the electoral outcome appear more legitimate than that of a nationwide popular vote.[5] Opponents of the Electoral College argue that it can result in a person becoming president even though an opponent got more votes (which has happened in two out of the last five presidential elections); that it causes candidates to focus their campaigning disproportionately in a few "swing states" while ignoring most areas of the country; and that its allocation of Electoral College votes gives citizens in less populated rural states as much as four times the voting power as those in more populous urban states.[6][7][8][9][10] Polls since 1967 have shown that a majority of Americans favor the president and vice president being elected by the nationwide popular vote, instead of by the Electoral College.[11][12]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Electoral_College
-- 2016 --
February: Donald Trump was surely right when he said, in 2012, “The electoral college is a disaster for a democracy . . . A total sham and a travesty”. And he confirmed his sensible view on November 13th, 2016 (after winning the election by the Electoral College system, but losing the popular vote) “I would rather see it, where you went with simple votes. You know, you get 100 million votes, and somebody else gets 90 million votes, and you win. There’s a reason for doing this. Because it brings all the states into play.”
https://www.richarddawkins.net/2017/02/can-the-electoral-college-system-be-reformed/
November 8: What Is The Electoral College? How It Works And Why It Matters ... How are the electors selected? ...
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/06/what-is-the-electoral-college_n_2078970.html
November 21: The Electoral College Was Meant to Stop Men Like Trump From Being President ... The founders envisioned electors as people who could prevent an irresponsible demagogue from taking office.
It is “desirable,” Alexander Hamilton wrote in Federalist 68, “that the sense of the people should operate in the choice of” president. But is “equally desirable, that the immediate election should be made by men most capable of analyzing the qualities adapted to the station.” These “men”—the electors––would be “most likely to possess the information and discernment requisite to such complicated investigations.” And because of their discernment—because they possessed wisdom that the people as a whole might not—“the office of President will never fall to the lot of any man who is not in an eminent degree endowed with the requisite qualifications.”
https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2016/11/the-electoral-college-was-meant-to-stop-men-like-trump-from-being-president/508310/
December 19: With an expected win in the Electoral College today, Donald J. Trump will seal his presidential victory — despite losing the national popular vote by a significant margin.
https://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/19/upshot/why-trump-had-an-edge-in-the-electoral-college.html
December 20: Trump wins electoral college amid nationwide protests ... Electors had been flooded with emails and phone calls urging them not to support the billionaire. But despite longshot liberal hopes of a revolt by Republican electors, only two - from Texas - ended up voting against him.
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-38374749
-- 2017 --
January 6: The U.S. Congress on Friday certified the Electoral College vote that gave Republican Donald Trump his victory in the contentious 2016 presidential election after a raucous half-hour joint session punctuated by Democratic challenges.
The Republican businessman, whose presidential campaign was his first bid for public office, garnered 304 electoral votes, compared with 227 won by his Democratic challenger, Hillary Clinton, according to the vote tally read by Vice President Joe Biden.
Some [House] members complained about long lines at polling stations while others cited concerns over Russian attempts to influence the result in Trump’s favor.
“I object because people are horrified by the overwhelming evidence of Russian interference in our election,” said Representative Barbara Lee of California before being overruled.
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-congress/u-s-congress-certifies-trumps-electoral-college-victory-idUSKBN14Q25R
January 6: Trump Electoral college win certified despite Democratic objections ... Vice President Joe Biden repeatedly told objecting congressman that their attempt to disrupt the usually staid moment that their objections were invalid because they did not have the signature of a United States senator. Biden, at times exasperated by the scene, at one point cautioned his fellow Democrats: "It is over."
