text: When voting for the president, the voter feels like he or she has the power to choose our nation's leader. When the voter realizes they are not voting for the president, they are, in fact, electing chosen people to vote for them, it does not really have the same effect.  This is explained in Bradford Plumer's "The Indefensible Electoral College." Electing by the popular vote would make it seem more personal and voting would have more meaning.