On five separate occasions in American history, the winner of the Electoral College vote did not also win the popular vote. Most recently, this happened in 2016 with President Donald Trump, and before that in 2000, with President George W. Bush. 

So why do we have this institution? And is it time to scrap it, and instead elect presidents directly? 

There are plenty of reasons to reconsider this institution. For example, Wyoming has one elector per 190,000 residents, roughly speaking, while California gets one for each 700,000. Also, it’s a vestige of slavery. And then there’s this. 

Professor Ava Ayers, director of the Government Law Center at Albany Law School spoke with Capital Tonight host Susan Arbetter about the issue.