Final answer:
The Electoral College balances representation to resolve the conflict between federalism and popular sovereignty by ensuring both small and large states have significant influence in presidential elections.
Step-by-step explanation:
The Electoral College resolved the conflict between federalism and popular sovereignty by creating a compromise that balances representation. This system allocates a number of electors to each state based on the sum of its Senators and Representatives, thereby ensuring that smaller states and less densely populated regions retain significant representative power. Large states have more electors due to larger populations, while smaller states gain a proportionally greater influence than they would under a strict popular vote system. This balance was deemed important to protect small states from being entirely overshadowed by the larger ones and maintain the federal structure of the nation, where states have significant individual powers.However, the Electoral College has faced criticism for instances where it does not reflect the popular vote, which may depress voter turnout and create a number of 'safe' states that receive little attention during elections. Movements for Electoral College reform or replacement propose methods like a nationwide direct election by popular vote or a proportional allocation of electoral votes to better reflect popular will.