If the Electoral College functioned as designed, there'd be no election campaigns, no conventions, no parties, no cadre of "professionals" battening on the People's treasury.
The Electoral College would meet and elect a President and Vice President. Two, stretch three days tops. All done.
The Founders put in the Constitution that the State Legislatures will decide how the Electors are allocated. Each (eventually) gave that right to the people of their States. The right to vote in a Presidential Election is a right granted by the State Legislatures - and you are actually voting in a State Election, not a national election. Most people don’t know that either...and the “national popular vote” is nothing more than a media statistic...as meaningful as putting together a tally for the “national popular vote” for Senate or House races.