according to the total number of votes each of the top candidates earned in the state. Using only the top two candidates means that a candidate who receives only a few percent of the vote is unlikely to monkey with the election. Since one only uses the top two candidates, rounding to the nearest whole number the electors attributed to each candidate in each state is defensible; let the states decide how to handle very close calls

Do this by a constitutional amendment, changing nothing else, except possibly to clarify under what circumstances disputes land in the House of Representatives. The scheme respects the popular will in each state, so should no provide a disincentive to vote. It is also relatively stable, in the sense that one does not typically expect a few contested votes in a single state to change the outcome of the national election (which does happen under the winner take all scheme). Moreover, the scheme does not decrease the electoral power of any state, so it would not face opposition on that ground. And because it is not based on congressional districts, it importantly leaves open the possibility that the majority of the House will not be of the same party as the President

Here's election 2000 on this basis: Gore squeaks in with 1 electoral vote, mirroring the general consensus of the country. Of course, 2000 was really so close, it should perhaps have been thrown into the House

ST .. EV(D) EV(R) EV ..... V(D) ..... V(R) ..... V(R)+V(D)
AL ... 5 ... 4 ... 9 .... 692611 .... 941173 ... 1633784
AK ... 2 ... 1 ... 3 ..... 79004 .... 167398 .... 246402
AZ ... 4 ... 4 ... 8 .... 685341 .... 781652 ... 1466993
AR ... 3 ... 3 ... 6 .... 422768 .... 472940 .... 895708
CA .. 24 .. 30 .. 54 ... 5861203 ... 4567429 .. 10428632
CO ... 4 ... 4 ... 8 .... 738227 .... 883748 ... 1621975
CT ... 3 ... 5 ... 8 .... 816015 .... 561094 ... 1377109
DE ... 1 ... 2 ... 3 .... 180068 .... 137288 .... 317356
DC ... 0 ... 3 ... 3 .... 171923 ..... 18073 .... 189996
FL .. 13 .. 12 .. 25 .... 2912253 .. 2912790 ... 5825043
GA ... 7 ... 6 .. 13 .... 1116230 .. 1419720 ... 2535950
HI ... 2 ... 2 ... 4 .... 205286 .... 137845 .... 343131
ID ... 3 ... 1 ... 4 .... 138637 .... 336937 .... 475574
IL .. 10 .. 13 .. 23 ... 2589026 ... 2019421 ... 4608447
IN ... 7 ... 5 .. 12 .... 901980 ... 1245836 ... 2147816
IA ... 3 ... 4 ... 7 .... 638517 .... 634373 ... 1272890
KS ... 4 ... 2 ... 6 .... 399276 .... 622332 ... 1021608
KY ... 5 ... 3 ... 8 .... 638923 .... 872520 ... 1511443
LA ... 5 ... 4 ... 9 .... 792344 .... 927871 ... 1720215
ME ... 2 ... 2 ... 4 .... 319951 .... 286616 .... 606567
MD ... 4 ... 6 .. 10 ... 1093344 .... 770911 ... 1864255
MA ... 4 ... 8 .. 12 ... 1616487 .... 878502 ... 2494989
MI ... 9 ... 9 .. 18 ... 2170418 ... 1953139 ... 4123557
MN ... 5 ... 5 .. 10 ... 1168266 ... 1109659 ... 2277925
MS ... 4 ... 3 ... 7 .... 392587 .... 558884 .... 951471
MO ... 6 ... 5 .. 11 ... 1111138 ... 1189924 ... 2301062
MT ... 2 ... 1 ... 3 .... 137126 .... 240178 .... 377304
NE ... 3 ... 2 ... 5 .... 231780 .... 433862 .... 665642
NV ... 2 ... 2 ... 4 .... 279978 .... 301575 .... 581553
NH ... 2 ... 2 ... 4 .... 266348 .... 273559 .... 539907
NJ ... 6 ... 9 .. 15 ... 1788850 ... 1284173 ... 3073023
NM ... 2 ... 3 ... 5 .... 286783 .... 286417 .... 573200
NY .. 12 .. 21 .. 33 ... 3942215 ... 2258577 ... 6200792
NC ... 8 ... 6 .. 14 ... 1257692 ... 1631163 ... 2888855
ND ... 2 ... 1 ... 3 ..... 95284 .... 174852 .... 270136
OH .. 11 .. 10 .. 21 ... 2183628 ... 2350363 ... 4533991
OK ... 5 ... 3 ... 8 .... 474276 .... 744337 ... 1218613
OR ... 3 ... 4 ... 7 .... 720342 .... 713577 ... 1433919
PA .. 11 .. 12 .. 23 ... 2485967 ... 2281127 ... 4767094
RI ... 1 ... 3 ... 4 .... 249508 .... 130555 .... 380063
SC ... 5 ... 3 ... 8 .... 566039 .... 786892 ... 1352931
SD ... 2 ... 1 ... 3 .... 118804 .... 190700 .... 309504
TN ... 6 ... 5 .. 11 .... 981720 ... 1061949 ... 2043669
TX .. 20 .. 12 .. 32 ... 2433746 ... 3799639 ... 6233385
UT ... 4 ... 1 ... 5 .... 203053 .... 515096 .... 718149
VT ... 1 ... 2 ... 3 .... 149022 .... 119775 .... 268797
VA ... 7 ... 6 .. 13 ... 1217290 ... 1437490 ... 2654780
WA ... 5 ... 6 .. 11 ... 1247652 ... 1108864 ... 2356516
WV ... 3 ... 2 ... 5 .... 295497 .... 336475 .... 631972
WI ... 5 ... 6 .. 11 ... 1242987 ... 1237279 ... 2480266
WY ... 2 ... 1 ... 3 ..... 60421 .... 147674 .... 208095
TOT. 269 . 270 . 539 .. 50767831 .. 50254223 . 101022054