“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.