The 538 electors have enormous power and are supposed to vote as the people of their state voted. A look at the record shows this was considered a very likely possibility in most elections. An idea for electoral college reform that both parties might actually like the way we now elect presidents would horrify the authors of the u. Oct 09, 2012 tally of the 1824 electoral college vote, 02091825 arc 306207 the modern day electoral college.
List of books and articles about electoral college. National clearinghouse on election administration, federal election commission, 1992. Taming the electoral college explores poorly understood aspects of the electoral college, including two possibilities in particular that could pose the most serious danger for american democracy. These are, first, determination of the president by faithless electors who ignore the popular vote in their states, and, second, choice of the president in the house of representatives, which is. In the 2016 presidential election, 227 electors were female while. Posts about critique of electoral college written by sassevn. Immediately download the electoral college summary, chapterbychapter analysis, book notes, essays, quotes, character descriptions, lesson plans, and more everything you need for studying or teaching electoral college. However, as massachusetts, illinois, new jersey, maryland, and washington consider bypassing the electoral college, the controversial topic is brought in front of lawmakers and the american people. By making sure no state is left behind, it works against disunity. Learn why the founders created the electoral college for electing the president, the difference between a republic and a democracy, how the electoral college works, why we shouldnt elect the president by popular vote, how the electoral college is unique, and why the electoral college must be maintained. Its header is stark and simple but lets you know right away youll be reading about everything ux. In the 2016 presidential election, 227 electors were female while the remaining 312 electors were male.
But few electoral college controversies can top the onceinalifetime. The electoral college was a compromise between the big and small states and reflects the fact that our country is a union of states. Americas unique and controversial electoral college. You can find all the associated maps, as well as a few others, on our 2016 presidential election forecasts page the various projections have converged in recent weeks, as forecasters are likely giving more weight to polls vs. Shaw, a scholar who also worked as a strategist in both bushcheney campaigns, has written the first book to go inside the past two. He founded and directs catos center for representative government, which studies the first amendment, government institutional failure. Jan 01, 1995 the electoral college is a disaster for a democracy. The electoral college would likely have been jettisoned long ago were it not for the fact that, prior to the 21 st century, the winner lost the popular vote only three times, all of them way back. If you look at an electoral college map, california appears solidly blue and alabama solidly red. In 1876, 1888, 2000, 2016, and, arguably, 1960, the candidate who finished second in the popular vote won the election.
Let the people pick the president addresses electoral college. Thoughts on the electoral college viewpoints on the pros. Robert hardaway first looks at the constitutional convention, the twelfth amendment, and historical elections where the electoral college has come into play, providing the historical background to the presentday college. While thats unlikely to ever happen, the system can and does fail. M any americans do not understand every nuance about their presidential selection system, and particularly about what is known as the electoral college, which determines which individuals become their countrys president and vice president. The author assumes his reader has some knowledge of the basic function of this institution before reading the book so it may be helpful to overview the system before diving in. Votes are cast by each state, using a slate of electors. Each state shall appoint, in such manner as the legislature thereof may direct, a number of electors, equal to the whole number of senators and representatives to which the state may be entitled in the congress. In defense of the electoral college system and some.
Who are some of the members of the electoral college. We have to hope that whoever ends up nominated can win the electoral college, she said at a discussion of her book, the book of gutsy women, in denver. Dec 19, 2016 the electoral college, which is written into the constitution, is more than just a vestige of the founding era. Of the seven largest electoral college states in 2008, only three were within five points of the national results. The electoral college is a brilliant constitutional device that deserves the support of the american people. Nov 07, 2016 the harshest criticism of the electoral college system is this. This type of cartogram was created in response to critiques about the use of.
The electoral college will prove its worth this year when we have such an intensely solid and extensive regional fringe in the southern red states that is. Man with beard facing camera and holding coloring book page with. For champions of the electoral college as a mode of selecting the president of the united states, the worstcase scenario happened in the election of 2000. A compromise measure from day one, it has been a target of reformers in congress since the early 1800s. Thus, students frequently characterize this system as unfair and cite it as a major reason for abolishing the electoral college. The 2016 election caused many pundits and citizens alike to decry the electoral college. The importance of the electoral college by george grant. Dec 18, 2016 the electoral college will vote monday for the next president. The flawed foundations of the electoral college yale. Aug 12, 2010 the electoral college the twostep, statebased process for electing presidents and vice presidents has served the united states well for more than two centuries. Katy collin in an article in the washington post goes on to state how the electoral college is not fair and disenfranchises millions because it gives certain voters a disproportionate amount of say in the process of choosing a president while the voice of other voters are given much less weight. John samples is a vice president at the cato institute. In the presidential portion of the ticket note the listing of electors, a reminder that the electoral college actually determines the occupant of the white house.
Sep 25, 2004 buttressing this dull political system is an antiquated, almost medieval, reactionary, precivil war, 18th century concoction of a committee called the electoral college. The electoral college, which is written into the constitution, is more than just a vestige of the founding era. Hes the author of why the electoral college is bad for america. What accounts for this electoral oddity is the winnertakeall provision of the electoral college. Because of the idiosyncrasy of the electoral college, the loser in the popular vote won the presidential election. This is an older article from cnn but worth reading for a better understanding of the geopolitical nature of the korean peninsula right now. Buttressing this dull political system is an antiquated, almost medieval, reactionary, precivil war, 18th century concoction of a committee called the electoral college.
Dec 03, 2014 throughout this blog we discuss many of the pitfalls of the electoral college, pinpointing a few of the specific ways in which it falls short of achieving an equal and accurate election of our president such as the mindbottling premise that a president can be elected while having lost the vote of the nation as a whole, which we elaborate. The book then evaluates the current operation of the winnertakeall electoral college and explains whycontrary to the mantra of many of its defendersit is essentially different from the electoral college conceived by the american founders. The wisdom of the electoral college news with views. The guest post by tableau zen master matt chambers is featured as part of election month a lot of my previous work has been centered around custom maps or mapping techniques within tableau. How to create an electoralcollege cartogram in tableau.
The electoral college issue 1 of essays in elections. Edwards described the electoral colleges connection to slavery last friday in the washington post. The national popular vote, explained brennan center for justice. No trump defections have been seen just yet, even though some faithless electors have shown their willingness to provide a different vote than expected by their state the usefulness of the electoral college has been. Immediately download the electoral college summary, chapterbychapter analysis, book notes, essays, quotes, character descriptions, lesson plans, and more everything you need for. The vote is still out on the electoral college uc press blog. Bush was elected president in 2000 despite having lost the popular vote to al gore, momentum has been building to do away with the electoral college this week, massachusetts. The electoral college is much more important than you think. His last blog post focused on visitors personal attachments to the. Its biased toward the big battlegrounds a winnertakeall system within states can produce results counter to the majority for no highminded reason. Opinion time to end the electoral college the new york. The electors almost always align with the popular vote.
Designing a blog is easy, but simply adding images and text into an existing template will make it look generic. As a longtime political advisor, roy neel has had an excellent vantage point for observing the personalties, fallacies and weak spots in our election process. Electoral college reform ebook by 97817145264 rakuten kobo. Should the electoral college reflect the popular vote. An idea for electoral college reform that both parties. Taming the electoral college robert william bennett. Each state has a number of electors equal to its congressional representation senators plus representatives. The electoral college was created, in part, as a compromise to give slaveholders more power. Ive always been fascinated with fivethirtyeights custom electoral college cartogram used in its 2016 election forecast.
There are 538 electors from the 50 states and the district of columbia. Electoral college reform brings together new essays examining all aspects of this crucial debate, including the reasons for reform, the issues surrounding a constitutional amendment, the effect of the electoral college on political campaigns and the possibilities for extraconstitutional avenues to change. It is of this institution that george grant has written his latest book the importance of the electoral college. He served as gores vice presidential chief of staff and later as deputy chief of staff to president bill. The electoral college militates against the poison of regionalism by forcing presidential candidates to seek support nationwide. Nov 18, 2016 posts about critique of electoral college written by sassevn. This study examines how the electoral college actually works, how it is supposed to work, and how it might be reformed.
These are, first, determination of the president by faithless electors who ignore the popular vote in their states, and, second, choice of the president in the house of. Read on for 50 awesome blogs with headers that draw readers in, make great first impressions and feature great content. The electoral college this is a political forum that is nonbiasednonpartisan and treats every persons position on topics equally. Bennetts book on the electoral college is the best book on this subject in years, if not ever. Why the electoral college is bad for america npr coverage of why the electoral college is bad for america by george c. This book explains the dangerous and unconstitutional implications of. Each party selects an elector from each of illinois 18 congressional districts, as well as two atlarge electors. But that is exactly what canand doeshappen under the electoral college.
A quick read presenting a compelling case for the constitutional electoral college. There were no upto the minute political news flashes, inside the beltway talkinghead tv programs, or even daily newspaper accounts of the latest national political goingson. Russia is trying to be an ascendant power on the global stage and recapture the superpower status that the ussr enjoyed. Jun 10, 2010 critics of the electoral college insist that it is undemocratic since it is possible for the winner of the popular vote to lose the electoral college majority and therefore be defeated in the election. List of 2016 united states presidential electors wikipedia. After only a few years, it became clear that that electing a president and vice president from different political parties didnt work as well in practice as it did in theory. The constitution, in article 2, section 1, provides. Members of the electoral college have been inundated by harassing phone calls and hate mail. It does not deserve such support, however, simply because one man in one year won one electionnor does it deserve to be opposed because one man lost one election. It is only 24 pages and reads more like a college paper about the electoral college than. But because the electoral college divided one big national election into 50 individual state elections, recounts were only pursued in a few states where the vote was closest. Time to end the electoral college the new york times. With just under five weeks to go until the 2016 presidential election, heres the state of the race from the viewpoint of 14 forecasters.
These are, first, determination of the president by faithless electors who ignore the popular vote in their states, and, second, choice of the. The reckless gamble in our electoral system by james a. Hillary clinton on monday urged democrats to choose a nominee who can win the electoral college in 2020. Nearly 2 years from a presidential election, the term electoral college usually wouldnt be popular. The electoral college has played an important role in presidential politics since our nations founding, but surprisingly little information exists about precisely how it affects campaign strategy. Without your service to your brothers and sisters, the work of the order would be seriously hindered. Quantifying a candidates advantage in the electoral college. The inevitable calls for an end to the electoral college began immediately after the election with secretary of state then. Its called the lecter college because the electoral college kills democracy in america, the way hannibal lecter, the serial killing cannibal killed people. The college wishes all the best to the new masters, both those just stepping into the office and those who have been fulfilling the role of acting master.
Who will sit on the electoral college from illinois. List of books and articles about electoral college online. Donald trump, americans serial, political cannibal, shows the mouth and jaws he used to devour his opponents. The electoral college creates a consensus when the constitution was drafted, america was still an almost entirely rural society.
The electoral college has always been controversial. Trent walton uses a typecentric header to lure you in. Nov 20, 2008 the electoral college also makes america seem more divided along bluered lines than it actually is. Federal election commission, national clearinghouse on election administration u. In the end, the winner of the race is the candidate who receives a majority 270 or. Her latest book gives americans even more reasons to support and preserve the electoral college. Its getting harder and harder to defend the electoral college. In 1804, the 12th amendment was ratified, which meant that the.
I bought this kindle book without reading the details carefully enough. Bennett is clearly more interested in scholarship than he is in. Electoral college reform brings together new essays examining all aspects of this crucial debate, including the reasons for reform, the issues surrounding a constitutional amendment, the effect of the electoral college on political campaigns and the. The harshest criticism of the electoral college system is this. To show how rigged it is, examine the difference between wyoming and washington. By the election of 1860, parades, banners and music were part of the. Neel grew up near nashville, and after a stint as a sportswriter, joined the congressional staff of thenu. This debate forum is not aligned to any political party. They argue passionately that its unseemly when a presidential election gets handed to a candidate who wins the electoral college but loses the. Dec, 2016 the electoral college would therefore operate as a nominating convention for the top five candidates.
The 2016 presidential election brought renewed discussion about the. Opinion americas outdated electoral college the new york. The electoral college the twostep, statebased process for electing presidents and vice presidents has served the united states well for more than two centuries. This is a list of members of the electoral college, known as electors, who cast ballots to elect the president of the united states and vice president of the united states in the 2016 presidential election. Americas founders wisely considered many different aspects of democratic election including the preservation of minority rights i. In illinois the voting has traditionally taken place at the state capitol. The electoral college keep it, but reform it britannica blog. Author interview roy neel, author of the electors bookpage.
There are ways to change this system, and there are people working long and hard to do so. Each party selects an elector from each of illinois. Alexander keyssar catalogs the many serious efforts to change the system, explains why they failed, and surveys the options for achieving a more democratic national vote. A firsthand look at electoral college dramain 1893 national. The electoral college has been in place since the constitutional convention of 1787 and is an extremely intricate system developed by the founding fathers, who were trying to devise a way in which to elect a president for an entire nation that did not live in an age of television, internet access, motorized vehicles, and equality amongst citizens. The trouble with the electoral college politico magazine.
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