The Independent View: If State Electors Can't be Faithless Why Have an Electoral College?

This Spring, the Supreme Court said Members of the Electoral College are Bound to Abide by the Laws of the States from which they hail. States Require Electors to Sign an Agreement that they will Vote for their State Presidential Winner, like: I do hereby consent and do hereby agree to serve as elector for President and Vice-President of the United States, if elected to that position, and do hereby agree that, if so elected, I shall cast my ballot as such elector for:

According to the Constitution, one needs a Majority of the Electoral College Votes, not a Majority of the Popular Vote, to win the Presidential Election. For most of the Country's History, the Winner received a Majority of Both. But in 2000 and again in 2016, George W. Bush and Donald Trump did Not win the Popular Vote.

For those who Decry such Results, the Electoral College is a Mechanism that can Override the Will of the People. For others, it is nothing more than another Rule built into the Constitutional Structure that makes it Difficult for Majorities to Form or Govern too easily.

Regardless of how one Views the Electoral College, the Supreme Court Decision, is a threat that could render the Electoral College even more Controversial. As Arcane as the System may be, it remains part of a Constitutional Structure that Recognizes the integral role States play in the Political System.

No doubt, the System has its Shortcomings. Throughout American history, "states' rights" claims have promoted a host of Evils ranging from the perpetuation of Slavery and Jim Crow Laws to more Mundane but Inefficient Practices, from different Driving Ages for different Categories of People to Laws that make it Difficult for Professionals to Transfer their Licenses from one State to the next.

Within the Context of the Electoral College the States remain a Fundamental part of the Constitutional System. It would be Extraordinary and even more Undemocratic, to empower a State's Electors to Ignore the Will of the People who sent them to the College in the first place.

If Electors are Bound by the Will of the People, they could rightfully ask, what's the Point of Sending them to their State Capitals to Cast their Votes for what would be a Preordained Outcome. There is No Questioning this Logic: If we Know the Outcome of the Presidential Election, what's the Point of Symbolically Reaffirming it at the Electoral College?

As Controversial and Arcane as the Electoral College is, it remains Part of the Constitution. If the Country Wishes to get Rid of it, it must do so by Constitutional Amendment. This is an Arduous, Slow and Time-Consuming Process. But, it is a Process the Constitution outlines clearly. If the Electoral College is such an Undemocratic Disaster, an Amendment to get rid of it should require Relatively little trouble.

Until the Amendment idea becomes a Reality, however, there is No question Electors should be Bound by the Will of the People and the Legislature of the State that Sends them.

To Free them from that Bond would render the Electoral College even more Undemocratic than it already is and Radically Increase the likelihood of Electoral Chaos every Four years with the Nation forced to Wait until January, close to Inauguration day, to see whether the November Popular Vote Result was to be Overturned.