On your first point, Most people would find it unacceptable to vote against what the voters voted for, so in that sense it's largely ceremonial: Two hundred se

On your first point, Most people would find it unacceptable to vote against what the voters voted for, so in that sense it's largely ceremonial: Two hundred seventy one electors—a majority—voted against what the voters voted for in 2000, choosing president Dubya. So that doesn't seem to be much of a problem.