text: Most  counterclaims to my explanation is swing states. This is because voters in toss-up states are more likely to pay close attention to the campaign, knowing that they are going to decide the outcome of the election. They are likely to be the most thoughtful voters, and the most thoughtful voters should be the ones to decide the election. Keeping electoral colleges would help in this case, so the candidates have to make both want to vote for them (Electoral College and toss-up states). Keeping Electoral Colleges also restores some of the weight in the politicaal balance that large states lose by virtue of the mal-apportionment of the senate decreed in the constitution.