POLITICS: The Electoral College's Historical Origins and Modern Impact The Electoral College was established in 1787 as a compromise between Federalists who wanted Congress to elect the president and Anti-Federalists who feared centralized power. Each state receives electors equal to its House members plus two senators, a formula that inherently advantages less populous states—Wyoming's ~580,000 residents have one elector per 193,000 people, while California's ~39 million have one per 720,000. This structural asymmetry means a candidate can win the popular vote by millions yet lose the presidency, as occurred in 2000 and 2016. Understanding this mechanism matters because it explains why campaigns ignore non-competitive states, how regional polarization develops differently than in popular-vote systems, and why electoral reform remains contentious—changing it requires constitutional amendment with supermajority support from states that disproportionately benefit from the current system.