College Bound    • Share   • Read Later Q: Let's start with the
electoral college and then get to the Florida mess. Why did the
founders set up this system? A: They were divided. Some wanted
Congress to pick the president. Others wanted the citizens to
choose directly. The electoral college was the compromise.  Q:
So these electors, who are they? A: States decide how they're
chosen, but usually they are loyalists chosen by their parties.
Five hundred and thirty-eight electoral votes are distributed
among the states — one for each member of the House and Senate.
(The District of Columbia gets three.) An elector is chosen for
every electoral vote available to a state. Electors can't hold
federal office. Some celebrities have been electors, like
Coretta Scott King, Martin Luther King Jr.'s widow. This year
they include the Florida attorney general, a retired school
administrator in Ohio and a computer specialist in Arizona.  Q:
When and how do they vote? A: On the first Monday after the
second Wednesday in Decem