This is the United STATES Of America. The states cast their vote, balancing the equality of states vs population - ensuring both that one large state doesn't ge

This is the United STATES Of America. The states cast their vote, balancing the equality of states vs population - ensuring both that one large state doesn't get outvoted by a couple much smaller ones, and that one large state doesn't render multiple small ones politically impotent. CA & NY have strong leanings toward urban political interests which conflict with legitimate interests of WY, MT, AK, etc ... but in a direct vote, the former would completely overwhelm the latter rendering their cumulative votes irrelevant. With electoral college, we have a "progressive" vote whereby neither the majority overwhelms the minority, nor the minority have an undue power over the majority - instead, we have a sensible balance. Switch to direct election, and there will be no need for the various candidates to peddle their platform all over the country: candidates will focus on high-density population regions, ignoring "flyover country" entirely and unfairly biasing political power toward urban interests.