"rw" wrote in message
m...
..
The only real effect is to magnify the voting power of residents of small
states at the expense of residents of large states,

which was precisely the compromise that enabled the creation of a Republic
of large and small population states. Otherwise, an agreement would have
never been reached, and the USA, as we know it, never would have existed.
Does the system work perfectly? No. Would any system? Just because a system
of simple majority seems simple, doesn't mean that it doesn't present very
real electoral/representational pitfalls. And, yes, you are correct in
citing how the system at the outset was able to work(before any real two
party setup in the current sense). Still, cite an example where the system
failed, beyond the fact that the person YOU supported didn't win. The
debacle of 2000 was NOT the fault of the electoral college system, it was a
corruption of the electoral system in one state. An electoral system
consisting of simple majority can be corrupted and abused every bit as
easily.
Tom