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

by Jesse Wegman

Overview

“Wegman combines in-depth historical analysis and insight into contemporary politics to present a cogent argument that the Electoral College violates America’s ‘core democratic principles’ and should be done away with…" —Publishers Weekly

The framers of the Constitution battled over it. Lawmakers have tried to amend or abolish it more than 700 times. To this day, millions of voters, and even members of Congress, misunderstand how it works. It deepens our national divide and distorts the core democratic principles of political equality and majority rule. How can we tolerate the Electoral College when every vote does not count the same, and the candidate who gets the most votes can lose?

Twice in the last five elections, the Electoral College has overridden the popular vote, calling the integrity of the entire system into question—and creating a false picture of a country divided into bright red and blue blocks when in fact we are purple from coast to coast. Even when the popular-vote winner becomes president, tens of millions of Americans—Republicans and Democrats alike—find that their votes didn't matter. And, with statewide winner-take-all rules, only a handful of battleground states ultimately decide who will become president.

Now, as political passions reach a boiling point at the dawn of the 2020 race, the message from the American people is clear: The way we vote for the only official whose job it is to represent all Americans is neither fair nor just. Major reform is needed—now. Isn't it time to let the people pick the president?

In this thoroughly researched and engaging call to arms, Supreme Court journalist and New York Times editorial board member Jesse Wegman draws upon the history of the founding era, as well as information gleaned from campaign managers, field directors, and other officials from twenty-first-century Democratic and Republican presidential campaigns, to make a powerful case for abolishing the antiquated and antidemocratic Electoral College. In Let the People Pick the President he shows how we can at long last make every vote in the United States count—and restore belief in our democratic system.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781250221988
Publisher:	St. Martin's Publishing Group
Publication date:	09/04/2024
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	302
Sales rank:	162,378
File size:	2 MB

About the Author

JESSE WEGMAN is a member of the New York Times editorial board, where he has written about the Supreme Court and legal affairs since 2013. He previously worked as a reporter, editor, and producer at outlets including National Public Radio, The New York Observer, Reuters, The Daily Beast and Newsweek. He graduated from New York University School of Law in 2005.

Table of Contents

Introduction: A More Perfect Union — The Last Step Toward American Democracy
1: Did the Founders Fear Democracy? — The Radical Democratic Vision of James Wilson
2: The Fraught Origins of the Electoral College — A Last-Minute “Frankenstein Compromise”
3: Did the Electoral College Ever Really Work? — Not Like the Framers Expected It To
4: The Second Founding — Black People and Women Get the Vote
5: One Person, One Vote — Four Words That Nearly Brought Down the Electoral College
6: Setting the Record Straight, Part One: Common Electoral College Myths — What Does “Mob Rule” Mean, Anyway?
7: The National Popular Vote Interstate Compact — You Don’t Need a Constitutional Amendment
8: Setting the Record Straight, Part Two: Common Popular Vote Myths — Big Cities, Two Parties, and a Democratic Plot
9: Imagining a National Popular Vote — The Campaign Experts Speak

Editorial Reviews

People have been arguing against the Electoral College from the beginning. But no one, at least in recent years, has laid out the case as comprehensively and as readably as Jesse Wegman does in Let the People Pick the President. Wegman…surveys the Electoral College's history from its drafting through the state ratification debates—and, importantly, well beyond.

The New York Times Book Review - Josh Chafetz

12/23/2019

New York Times editorial board member Wegman combines in-depth historical analysis and insight into contemporary politics to present a cogent argument that the Electoral College violates America’s “core democratic principles” and should be done away with. According to Wegman, the system of voting for state electors who then cast their ballots for president was established by America’s founders at a time when most citizens were ill-informed about politics and traveling to voting locations was onerous—circumstances that are no longer relevant. He notes that the Constitution’s framers explicitly linked the Electoral College to slavery, and examines elections in which the Electoral College and popular vote winners haven’t matched, including the 1876 contest between Samuel Tilden and Rutherford B. Hayes, the 2000 race between George W. Bush and Al Gore, and President Trump’s 2016 victory over Hillary Clinton. Wegman refutes several “myths” about the Electoral College’s potential repeal, including that it can only be done through a constitutional amendment and that small and rural states would lose out if presidents were selected by direct vote. His extensive research and careful consideration of the issue from all angles reveal the current system’s defects, though the path to reform in the face of fierce political opposition remains somewhat unclear. Nevertheless, this urgent and lucidly presented plea for change will resonate with progressives. (Mar.)

Publishers Weekly

Was it a mistake to create the Electoral College? Jesse Wegman argues that it was. This timely and erudite work should interest all who are interested in the future of the United States.” —Annette Gordon-Reed, author of The Hemingses of Monticello

“Jesse Wegman’s urgent and ultimately irrefutable call to action is the most readable and fully informed explanation of how the Electoral College is wrecking America’s great experiment in government of, by, and for the people. It’s not too late to rescue our democracy from destruction. But it soon will be. Wegman makes a compelling case that we must act now—and he explains what to do.” —Laurence H. Tribe, Carl M. Loeb University Professor, Harvard Law School

"Jesse Wegman is a shrewd analyst, brilliant researcher and passionate writer, and here he tackles an issue important to our system’s legitimacy." —Nicholas Kristoff

"People have been arguing against the Electoral College from the beginning. But no one, at least in recent years, has laid out the case as comprehensively and as readably as Jesse Wegman does in Let the People Pick the President." —Josh Chafetz, New York Times Book Review

“Wegman combines in-depth historical analysis and insight into contemporary politics to present a cogent argument that the Electoral College violates America’s ‘core democratic principles’ and should be done away with…this urgent and lucidly presented plea for change will resonate with progressives.” —Publishers Weekly

"A methodical, well-reasoned compilation of arguments on a pertinent subject; recommended for readers interested in historical and contemporary U.S. politics." —Library Journal

"Throughout, the author's confidence in his argument shines through...An illuminating history and analysis." —Kirkus

From the Publisher

02/01/2020

Wegman (member, New York Times editorial board) explores arguments for abolishing the Electoral College, therefore enabling the election of the U.S. president by popular vote. The author opens with the origins of the Electoral College at the 1787 Constitutional Convention, describing its shortcomings and role in subsequent contested elections as well as previous attempts to abolish it. Wegman particularly focuses on the role of slavery and voter disenfranchisement. The second half of the book focuses on the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact, in which each state's electors vote for the candidate who receives a majority of the popular vote. The exploration closes with assessments from campaign experts as to the differences in the political landscape without the Electoral College. Written primarily for advocates of Electoral College abolition, this book aims to provide readers with arguments to persuade others, and addresses common misconceptions about the Electoral College and National Popular Vote Interstate Compact in a Q&A format. VERDICT A methodical, well-reasoned compilation of arguments on a pertinent subject; recommended for readers interested in historical and contemporary U.S. politics.—Rebekah Kati, Univ. of North Carolina, Chapel Hill

Library Journal

2019-12-09
A debut author makes the case for getting rid of the Electoral College in favor of a national popular vote.

After the 2016 election, in which Donald Trump lost the popular vote but won the Electoral College, there were renewed calls to examine the country's electoral system, with numerous impassioned pleas about how the EC system no longer works and that we need to institute a simple popular vote. "The Electoral College," writes Wegman, a member of the New York Times editorial board and former legal news editor at Reuters, "has almost never operated as Alexander Hamilton pictured it would." Rather, our electors have always been "obedient partisan hacks, rubber stamps for the party's candidate." As with almost anything in the U.S., if it can be made political, it will be; our voting system is no different. Beginning with a detailed history of the Electoral College, the author examines the compromises and consequences that have always been present in our voting system. Wegman truly believes that the situation can change. Myths abound about the EC, and it's well within our interests—both Democrat and Republican alike—to transition to a popular voting system. Throughout, the author's confidence in his argument shines through. Wegman can be forgiven for his overly optimistic approach, but if there's anything to be learned from the long history of American politics, it's that nothing is predictable. While the facts and logic of his argument are mostly sound, we know that the pillars of democracy are not as stable as anyone once thought. One measure in particular—the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact—is gaining traction, but as the author himself observes, it's not a binding agreement. A simple shift in demographics or political leanings could quickly throw that compact out the door.

An illuminating history and analysis but it remains unlikely that Wegman's desired audience will be swayed.

Kirkus Reviews