I’m probably a pretty small minority here, but if it is done correctly, I would be in favor of popular vote determination, though it should ONLY be done by Constitutional Amendment.
What was the purpose of the Electoral College in the first place? To choose wise individuals who would then work out the best candidate, thereby avoiding being slaves to the passion of the moment. But with electors now obligated to follow the dictates of the popular vote in their own states, the whole point of the system is erased. Now it only serves to confuse and make things more complicated than they need to be while encouraging cynicism.
Dare I say something positive about French elections and the way they are held? Everyone votes, the votes are counted and 15 minutes after the polls close, we know the winner. If nobody gets 50.01%, there is an immediate runoff between the top two just 2 weeks later, which ensures that the winner gets a majority of the citizens’ votes. In our elections, we have a system in which it has become rare for a candidate to get an actual majority, inviting false flag parties, mischief-makers and lawyers (please excuse the redundancy) to distort the result. Look for big-time false-flag Tea Party candidates in the 2012 elections, just to scatter and dilute the conservative vote. It is going to happen.
I thought a second reason was to prevent smaller states from becoming totally irrelevant. If we went with a straight popular vote, wouldn't candidates just focus their attention on larger cities (even more than now)?