Let the People Pick the President: The Case for Abolishing the Electoral College by Jesse Wegman

Let the People Pick the President: The Case for Abolishing the Electoral College

by Jesse Wegman

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Politics & Power

If you don't live in a battleground state, winner-take-all rules make your presidential vote effectively irrelevant. Wegman traces the Electoral College from the 1787 Constitutional Convention to Trump's 2016 win, and argues for a national popular vote, reachable through a compact that needs no constitutional amendment.

Core ideas
  • The overlooked founder: James Wilson argued for electing the president directly, and the independent electors Hamilton envisioned became partisan rubber stamps.
  • Five split results: The Electoral College winner has lost the popular vote five times, 2000 and 2016 among them, and he treats the usual defenses of the system as myths.
  • The compact route: States pledge their electors to the national popular-vote winner, though the compact isn't binding and political shifts could undo it.
Published2020
Pages304
ISBN9781250221971
ReadJan 2025

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