It's not a relic; it is still very much relevant. The entire purpose of the Electoral College is to prevent a regional party or candidate (AK Independence Party is a good example of a regional party) from a highly populated area (say the West coast, the Midwest, or New England, perhaps?) from taking control of national politics. Look at the Electoral College map from this, or almost, any year. It's always the same: highly populated states and urban areas always vote liberal. The opposite is also true. Recall last week's map of Michigan: the entire state was red except for Detroit, yet it was "too close to call" because they were waiting on the avalanche of blue votes just from Detroit. Apply that to the nation as a whole. Why should one area get that much power just because of population density? I don't want CA or NY to have that much effect on my life. The Electoral College protects Alaskans and people from rural America. We need to protect it.