The Electoral College protects the MINORITY from the MOBjority who are just trying to HELP YOU, and who feel they alone know what's best FOR YOU, because they are so much smarter, wiser, more worldly, and more cultured than YOU...
From "The Electoral College Still Makes Sense Because We’re Not A Democracy":
“Pure democracy” is just another phrase for “mob rule.” Dictatorship of the majority means 51 percent of the citizenry rule the other 49 percent. That minority has no rights except those the condescending majority grants. It works well for those in the 51 percent, not so much for those in the 49. Plato knew it, and James Madison, who knew his Plato, did too. Plato and Madison both recognized that justice and liberty for the minority is possible only when power is shared between groups in society.
The purpose of the Electoral College is to balance voting power across states so no one region of the country can gain too much control. If a president is elected by a simple majority of votes, a candidate who is wildly popular in one region (e.g., Ted Cruz in Texas, Mitt Romney in Utah) can ignore smaller regions and campaign only where large majorities are possible. Or a candidate who kills in California and New York can write off “flyover country” completely.
Think of the Electoral College like the World Series. One person-one vote equates to the World Series Champions being determined by total number of runs scored. If the Dodgers win the first game 10-0, and the Yankees win the next four games 1-0, the Dodgers win the series. Even though the Yankees bested the Dodgers in four games, it doesn’t matter because the Dodgers scored 10 runs to their 4. One anomalous game decides the whole series. Without the Electoral College, a few heavily populated states decide the whole election.
Those who clamor for “one person-one vote” are seeking more power at the expense of power they already have.
Full Story: http://thefederalist.com/2016/09/16/the-electoral-college-still-makes-sense-because-were-not-a-democracy/
And from "Opinion: The Electoral College protects states’ rights":
Here is the main purpose of the Electoral College: to protect sparsely-populated states from being ignored in presidential elections and then walked all over by the federal government. Having both senators count toward the total Electoral College votes ensures the existence of the individual states. Yes, without the Electoral College, there may as well be no states at all because the power of the federal government would be so great.
We have all seen the red and blue Electoral College maps of the most recent presidential election. The red states depicting Republican wins took the vast majority of square miles. But what you have most likely not seen is a very similar map, only instead of state-by-state, it shows the presidential winner county-by-county. Seeing that map will change your entire perspective on the Electoral College.
So, the issue of popular vote has been a bone of contention for well over a century. The change in the selection of U.S Senators in 1913 threatened the survival of the Electoral College even further. If all states value what is left of their sovereignty, they should fight very hard to preserve the protections of the Electoral College.
