The Electoral College is an indirect election system in which delegated or specially elected electors form a panel that has no other responsibilities and elects top officials. In addition, in a number of countries, for various reasons, the institution of the disproportionate distribution of votes between regions has traditionally been practiced to increase the representation of small rural districts, national, religious and other minorities in the elected authorities. This phenomenon encourages electoral candidates to conduct an active political campaign even in the most remote corners of the country, rather than focusing only on the largest urban agglomerations.
Examples
In Catalonia, although voting in the 135-seat parliament is secretly carried out on the basis of universal suffrage, three non-capitalist, but mostly Catalan-speaking regions elect 15 more seats in the local Parliament than could be expected based on their proportional demographic weight [1] . In Catalonia, there are four multi-member constituencies - Barcelona (85 seats), Tarragona (18), Girona (17) and Lleida (15). Following the election results, seats are distributed among the lists of candidates in proportion to the votes cast for the lists of candidates. As a result, without even receiving an absolute majority of votes (47.5%), parties supporting the independence of Catalonia can nonetheless easily get 52% of the seats in the local Parliament and thus create a coalition of the ruling majority.
Traditionally, German barbarian and Christian kings were elected by the largest feudal lords; while the succession to the throne was established in the early Middle Ages, the election of the emperor by special electors — electors — remained in the Holy Roman Empire . In the Commonwealth, the head of state ( King of Poland ) was elected by a special electoral diet . In the United States and several other countries, the electoral college elects the president and vice president (see the US Electoral College ).