The Founding Fathers established the electoral college in the Constitution, in part, as a compromise between the election of the president by a vote in Congress and the election of the president by a popular vote of qualified citizens. Every state gets at least 3 electoral votes because a state's number of electors is identical to the total number of its senators and representatives in Congress. Seven states have the minimum 3 electors. Washington, D.C., also has 3 electoral votes because of the 23rd Amendment, which gave the nation's capital as many electors as the state with the fewest electoral votes. California has the most electoral votes with 55. Texas is next with 38. New York and Florida have 29 apiece. The founders were concerned that average Americans would lack enough information about the candidates to make intelligent choices. So informed "electors" would stand in for them. Has the electoral college become obsolete in the age of mass communication and a more educated citizenry? We will look at that question in this lesson.