Let the People Pick the President

Let the People Pick the President
Author: Jesse Wegman
Publisher: Macmillan + ORM
Total Pages: 177
Release: 2020-03-17
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 1250221986

“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.

Picking the President

Picking the President
Author: Eric Burin
Publisher:
Total Pages: 152
Release: 2017-02
Genre:
ISBN: 9780692833445

The 2016 presidential election has sparked an unprecedented interest in the Electoral College. In response to Donald Trump winning the presidency despite losing the popular vote, numerous individuals have weighed in with letters-to-the-editor, op-eds, blog posts, videos, and the like, and thanks to the revolution in digital communications, these items have reached an exceptionally wide audience. In short, never before have so many people had so much to say about the Electoral College. To facilitate and expand the conversation, Picking the President: Understanding the Electoral College offers brief essays that examine the Electoral College from different disciplinary perspectives, including philosophy, mathematics, political science, history, and pedagogy. Along the way, the essays address a variety of questions about the Electoral College: Why was it created? How has it changed over time? Who benefits from it? Is it just? How will future demographic patterns affect it? Should we alter or abolish the Electoral College, and if so, what should replace it? In exploring these matters, Picking the President enhances our understanding of one of America's most high-profile, momentous issues.

Presidential Elections and Majority Rule

Presidential Elections and Majority Rule
Author: Edward B. Foley
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
Total Pages: 257
Release: 2020
Genre: HISTORY
ISBN: 0190060158

In his latest book, Presidential Elections and Majority Rule, Edward Foley asks how the American electoral system can better represent the people. What kind of winner truly reflects the nation's votes: the plurality winners of winner-takes-all elections, as currently used, or the majority-preferred winners of a reformed system? How do third-party candidates affect American presidential elections? What, if anything, would change in a two-candidate run-off?And how can electoral reform be implemented without sowing chaos? Ultimately, Foley outlines a solution in which the Electoral College can be restored to its original majoritarian ideals through state law rather than Constitutional amendment.

Why Do We Still Have the Electoral College?

Why Do We Still Have the Electoral College?
Author: Alexander Keyssar
Publisher: Harvard University Press
Total Pages: 545
Release: 2020-07-31
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 067497414X

A New Statesman Book of the Year “America’s greatest historian of democracy now offers an extraordinary history of the most bizarre aspect of our representative democracy—the electoral college...A brilliant contribution to a critical current debate.” —Lawrence Lessig, author of They Don’t Represent Us Every four years, millions of Americans wonder why they choose their presidents through an arcane institution that permits the loser of the popular vote to become president and narrows campaigns to swing states. Congress has tried on many occasions to alter or scuttle the Electoral College, and in this master class in American political history, a renowned Harvard professor explains its confounding persistence. After tracing the tangled origins of the Electoral College back to the Constitutional Convention, Alexander Keyssar outlines the constant stream of efforts since then to abolish or reform it. Why have they all failed? The complexity of the design and partisan one-upmanship have a lot to do with it, as do the difficulty of passing constitutional amendments and the South’s long history of restrictive voting laws. By revealing the reasons for past failures and showing how close we’ve come to abolishing the Electoral College, Keyssar offers encouragement to those hoping for change. “Conclusively demonstrates the absurdity of preserving an institution that has been so contentious throughout U.S. history and has not infrequently produced results that defied the popular will.” —Michael Kazin, The Nation “Rigorous and highly readable...shows how the electoral college has endured despite being reviled by statesmen from James Madison, Thomas Jefferson, and Andrew Jackson to Edward Kennedy, Bob Dole, and Gerald Ford.” —Lawrence Douglas, Times Literary Supplement

Summary of Jesse Wegman's Let the People Pick the President

Summary of Jesse Wegman's Let the People Pick the President
Author: Everest Media,
Publisher: Everest Media LLC
Total Pages: 31
Release: 2022-05-18T22:59:00Z
Genre: Political Science
ISBN:

Please note: This is a companion version & not the original book. Sample Book Insights: #1 On October 4, 1779, a group of radical revolutionaries gathered at Paddy Byrne’s Tavern in Philadelphia to drink and plot an attack. They had good reason to be upset. The city’s economy was in bad shape, and merchants were gouging their customers on essential goods. #2 The Fort Wilson Riot in Philadelphia in 1778 demonstrated to the founding fathers how fragile their new government was, and they began to fear that the people might destroy it. #3 The American electorate in 1787 was made up of wealthy, well-educated landowning white men. These were the framers’ beliefs about the American people, and they wanted to keep the government far away from them in order to protect the nation’s economy. #4 James Wilson was one of the main architects of our national charter, along with James Madison. He was a radical political philosopher who wanted to give more power to the people themselves.

Why the Electoral College is Bad for America

Why the Electoral College is Bad for America
Author: George C. Edwards
Publisher: Yale University Press
Total Pages: 226
Release: 2005-05-12
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 9780300109689

A distinguished political scientist critiques arguments in favor of the electoral college and offers a persuasive argument for direct election of the president. “[With] excellent descriptions of how the electoral system actually works, [this] is the most cogent and up-todate criticism I have read.”—Alexander Keyssar, New York Review of Books “This crisp handbook . . . outlines the origins of the electoral college . . . and demonstrates the many ways it violates democratic norms.”—New Yorker “Timely [and] relevant. . . . [Edwards’s] principal lines of argument deserve extensive debate in both the news media and the Congress.”—Lewis H. Lapham, Harper’s “Compelling . . . [and] meticulous.”—Glenn C. Altschuler, New York Observer

Why We Need the Electoral College

Why We Need the Electoral College
Author: Tara Ross
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Total Pages: 305
Release: 2017-10-30
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 1621577074

Is the Electoral College anti-democratic? Some would say yes. After all, the presidential candidate with the most popular votes has nevertheless lost the election at least three times, including 2016. To some Americans, that’s a scandal. They believe the Electoral College is an intolerable flaw in the Constitution, a relic of a bygone era that ought to have been purged long ago. But that would be a terrible mistake, warns Tara Ross in this vigorous defense of “the indispensable Electoral College.” Far from an obstacle to enlightened democracy, the Electoral College is one of the guardrails ensuring the stability of the American Republic. In this lively and instructive primer, Tara Ross explains: Why the Founders established the Electoral College—and why they thought it vital to the Constitution Why the Electoral College was meant to be more important than the popular vote How the Electoral College prevents political crises after tight elections Why the Electoral College doesn’t favor one party over the other Why the states are the driving force behind presidential elections and how efforts to centralize the process have led to divisiveness and discontent Why the Electoral College is inappropriately labeled a “relic of slavery” Every four years, the controversy is renewed: Should we keep the Electoral College? Tara Ross shows you why the answer should be a resounding Yes!

Why We Must Defend the Electoral College

Why We Must Defend the Electoral College
Author: Trent England
Publisher: Encounter Books
Total Pages: 29
Release: 2020-05-05
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 164177150X

Is the Electoral College “racist” and a “scam” as Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez claims? Or was Alexander Hamilton right when he declared that “if it be not perfect, it is at least excellent”? In this Broadside, Trent England explains why we have the Electoral College, how it shapes American politics, and why preserving it is necessary to maintain our republican form of government. With an organized campaign trying to hijack the constitution’s state-by-state system in favor of a direct election, now is the time for Americans to come to the defense of the Electoral College.

Summary of Let the People Pick the President

Summary of Let the People Pick the President
Author: Fireside Reads
Publisher: Independently Published
Total Pages: 58
Release: 2020-10-03
Genre:
ISBN:

Learn the Invaluable Lessons from Let the People Pick the President: The Case for Abolishing the Electoral College by Jesse Wegman and Apply it into Your Life Without Missing Out! What's it worth to you to have just ONE good idea applied to your life? In many cases, it may mean expanded paychecks, better vitality, and magical relationships. Here's an Introduction of What You're About to Discover in this Premium Summary of Let the People Pick the President: The Case for Abolishing the Electoral College by Jesse Wegman: In Let the People Pick the President: The Case for Abolishing the Electoral College, New York Times editorial board member and Supreme Court journalist Jesse Wegman sheds light upon the history from 1774 to 1779, as well as information gathered from campaign managers, field directors, and other administrators from Democratic and Republican presidential campaigns of the twenty-first-century, to make a formidable case for ending the outmoded and anti-democratic Electoral College. In this thoroughly researched and appealing call to arms, Wegman presents how we can finally make every vote in the United States matter―and restore belief in democracy. Let the People Pick the President by Jesse Wegman earned multiple reviews, including Publishers Weekly, which remarked the book, denoting how it combines in-depth historical inquiry and insight into contemporary politics to present a compelling argument that the Electoral College violates. Plus, - Executive "Snapshot" Summary of Let the People Pick the President: The Case for Abolishing the Electoral College - Background Story and History of Let the People Pick the President: The Case for Abolishing the Electoral College for a Much Richer Reading Experience - Key Lessons Extracted from Let the People Pick the President: The Case for Abolishing the Electoral College and Exercises to Apply it into your Life - Immediately! - About the Hero of the Book: Jesse Wegman - Tantalizing Trivia Questions for Better Retention Scroll Up and Buy Now! 100% Guaranteed You'll Find Thousands of Dollars Worth of Ideas in This Book or Your Money Back Faster You Order - Faster You'll Have it in Your Hands! *Please note: This is a summary and workbook meant to supplement and not replace the original book.

No Way to Pick a President

No Way to Pick a President
Author: Jules Witcover
Publisher: Psychology Press
Total Pages: 324
Release: 2001
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 9780415930314

First Published in 2001. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.