BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Some say it is unnecessary and ignores what the majority of voters want. Others agree with the Founding Fathers who believed it gives voters in less populated states a say in who the president of the United States will be. 

The relevance of the Electoral College is being highly debated again among American voters since Donald Trump won the presidential election last week. 

"Everyday citizens aren't really aware of what the Electoral College does and therefore it's pretty disconcerting when they realize that their votes don't really go directly towards the president," said Steve Peraza, SUNY Buffalo State history professor.  

Electors were established in Article Two of the 12th Amendment when the Constitution was written.

"The electoral college apportions votes based on a state's population," said Len Lenihan, Erie County Democratic commissioner of elections. "Each state has two senators and their congressional representatives are based on population."

The latest tally shows that Hillary Clinton will win the popular vote despite losing the Electoral College. Even Trump has questioned the need for the Electoral College.

But only four times in history has the President-elect won the election without winning the popular vote. 

"Because so much focus goes to the swing states, they get a bigger turnout because they get a lot more attention paid to them," said Lenihan. "Whereas the voters in the states where the voters are basically ignored, they get a lesser turnout."

Lenihan also says it is highly unlikely the Electoral College will be removed from the Constitution. Swing states and less populated states would not support it and history has shown that, overall, the Electoral College has served its original purpose. 

"The electoral college has generally worked. Whether it continues to work remains to be seen," said Peraza. "I think there's a valid sense that the elections need to be more democratic. So votes need to actually matter when they're being cast for president."

The President-elect won 290 electoral votes, 20 more than the required 270 to become president in this year's election.