In a surprise to no one, Donald Trump received all six of Mississippi’s electoral votes for president. And that’s how it should be. Trump won the state by a large margin. He also cruised to a win in Lincoln County.

The state’s electors — and those across the country — cast their votes Monday. Trump easily won the vote, even as a few “faithless” electors cast votes against him. Late Monday, he had 304 votes to Hillary Clinton’s 224. Hawaii had yet to vote late Monday.

Every four years, there are discussions about the Electoral College and the merits of moving to a popular vote. While both systems have their advantages, the Electoral College was established in the Constitution and has served this country well for more than two centuries. The Electoral College consists of 538 electors. A majority of 270 electoral votes is required to elect the president.

It’s not perfect, but neither is a popular vote. With a popular vote, small states like Mississippi would become even more insignificant. States with large populations like California, Texas and New York would get all the candidates’ attention, and would effectively elect our presidents.

At least with the Electoral College, all states have some impact on the outcome — though Mississippi’s is still small.

The Electoral College, in theory, also ensures a qualified person becomes president. At least that was the founders’ intention. But it’s less of a buffer against a populist getting elected these days. Most states now require electoral voters to cast votes in accordance with the popular vote.

So in reality, our current system is sort of a mix of the Electoral College and a popular vote. And that’s probably a good thing.