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The following concerns about the Electoral College system have been raised:

1. The Electoral College gives disproportionate voting power to smaller states with more Electoral votes per person.

   For instance, each individual vote in Wyoming counts nearly four times as much in the Electoral College as each individual vote in Texas. This is because Wyoming has 3 Electoral votes for a population of 493,782 and Texas has 32 Electoral votes for a population of over 20 million people. By dividing the population by Electoral votes, we can see that Wyoming has an "Elector" for every 165,000 people and Texas has an "Elector" for every 652,000 people.

2. The Electoral College does not encourage politicians to campaign in every state.

   Since the Electoral College allocates each state’s votes (except Maine and Nebraska) in a winner-take-all method, there is no reason for a candidate to campaign in a state that already favors them or their opponent.

3. Electors are not bound to carry out the will of the people they represent

   In 21 states, electors are not obligated by law to vote for the candidate for whom they were selected. In the 29 states where electors are obligated by law or pledge, they can often still vote against their party without being replaced. Some states issue only minimal fines as punishment. Other states instigate criminal charges varying from a simple misdemeanor to a 4th degree felony.

4. If no candidate gets a majority of Electoral College votes, the Congress determines the president and vice-president.

   It could happen that a third party or independent candidate receives the Electoral votes for an entire state or two candidates tie with 269 votes each. In these situations, the people of the United States lose the ability to select their president. The Presidential vote is deferred to the House of Representatives and the Vice Presidential vote is deferred to the Senate. This could easily lead to a purely partisan battle, instead of an attempt to discover which candidate the citizens really preferred.

5. No traction for third parties

   Because of our two-party system, voters often find themselves voting for the "lesser of two evils," rather than a candidate they really feel would do the best job. The Electoral College inadvertently reinforces this two party system, where third parties cannot enter the race without being tagged as “spoilers.” Since most states distribute their Electoral votes on a winner-take-all basis, a smaller party has no chance to gain support without seeming to take this support from one of the major parties.

6. Presidency Can Be Won Without a Majority of the Popular Vote

   Since the Electoral College excludes candidates who do not win pluralities in any individual states from its total, a candidate can win the Electoral College without winning a majority of the popular vote of the nation. This has happened 16 times since the founding of the Electoral College, most recently in 2000. In every one of these elections, more than half of the voters voted against the candidate who was elected.

(FairVote.org)