“WHAT'S THE DEAL WITH THE ELECTORAL COLLEGE?”
Perhaps no extant product of the U.S. Constitution has received more bipartisan animus than the Electoral College. Since 1800 there have been more than 700 proposals introduced in Congress to amend or eliminate the way in which America chooses its presidents. Yet the Electoral College lives on.
Why do we have this system? Why does it inspire such cross-party antipathy? Can it be changed -- should it be changed? -- and if so how? Electoral College expert Dr. Edward B. Foley joins the Institute to discuss.
Dr. Foley is author of Presidential Elections and Majority Rule: The Rise, Demise, and Potential Restoration of the Jeffersonian Electoral College. Foley is the current Guggenheim Fellow in constitutional studies and leading election law expert in the United States.
Liam Julian | Moderator
Liam Julian is director of public policy for the Sandra Day O’Connor Institute for American Democracy. He was previously managing editor of Policy Review magazine in Washington, D.C. His writing and commentary on public policy topics has appeared in a variety of publications such as The Washington Post, The Atlantic, City Journal, and National Review and on programs such as NPR’s Morning Edition and All Things Considered. Mr. Julian also spent time working with the College Board, where he oversaw development of Advanced Placement curricula, including the redesign of the AP U.S. Government and Politics course. From 2006 to 2013, he was a Hoover Institution research fellow at Stanford University.
The opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect those of the Sandra Day O’Connor Institute for American Democracy. Our nonpartisan nonprofit offers a platform of civil discourse to allow contrasting views to be discussed and explored.
