While I don't always like the outcome, I still assert that if you repealed the 17th Amendment, the current system is by far the fairest. Those who call for the elimination of the Electoral College are democrats (small d), because they do not believe in the system that was setup by our founding fathers. They want a democracy, which is not our political system. Our founding fathers understood the limitations of democracy, republics, and representative democracies. They created a system that, when not significantly altered, works fantastically.
The Bill of Rights protects our individual rights, the House represents the People, the Senate represents the States, the Executive Branch handles day to day operations and takes care of emergencies (which is why the EC exists to give preference to the populous, but at the same time ensure that the States have a heavy hand), and the Judicial Branch just sits back and sorts out the conflicts. The several States were designed to be the ultimate authority, which I am much more comfortable with that what we have in place today.