Disclaimer , I voted for Hillary . In regards to the 35 ths compromise , the delegates were discussing congressional representation , NOT the Electoral College . In fact , the discussions about the compromise and the discussions about the presidential election system were largely separate . The main reason that the compromise is cited today is because , late in the Convention , it was decided that each state ' s electoral vote allocation would match its congressional allocation . At least , slavery was a subtle influence . Indeed , the debates about the presidential election process were not focused on slaveryat all . The delegates discussed whether legislative selection or a national popular vote was better . All the small states not only slave states were worried about the concept of a national popular vote . They feared that they would be outvoted by the large states time and time again . Keep in mind that the large states weren ' t uniformly slave or not slave either . Virginia , one of the largest states , was a slave state , whereas Pennsylvania was not .