Question

In judging the Electoral College, how important is it to know that on several occassions an elector broke with custom and voted independently?

Answer 1

This sounds like a bit of an opinion question, but I'd say it's very important. The electors make a "promise" to vote the way that the people do, but they can and have voted differently, which can lead to the winner of an election being won by someone who has not earned the popular vote.
iIf you need more info on the electoral college CPGGrey on youtube has some short entertaining videos explaining the electoral college
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OUS9mM8Xbbw
And the problems that arise from it
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7wC42HgLA4k

Hope those help.

Answer 2

Ahh didn't notice my messed up grammar and spelling 'till after posting. Sorry! It's early.
Hope my answer was still helpful!

Answer 3

They're not robots. If we wanted them to simply mindlessly vote for their party's candidate, we wouldn't send human beings, we'd just mail the result in. The electors are supposed to use their heads and their judgment, so that, for example, if there is some weird deadlock in the Electoral College, or some outrageous fact emerges about the winning candidate between the election and when the EC votes, or the candidate dies, the electors can use their judgment and make sure a reasonable thing happens. That's why we entrust the process to human beings, and not computer programs.