Saving the Electoral College

Why the National Popular Vote Would Undermine Democracy

Robert M. Hardaway

• Publisher: Praeger
• Year: 2019
• ISBN:
  9798216141679
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Politics & International Relations
• Subtopic: Political Campaigns & Elections
• Index: Politics & International Relations

The 2016 election caused many pundits and citizens alike to decry the Electoral College. This book explains the dangerous and unconstitutional implications of the National Popular Vote Bill, which is quietly passing in state houses across the nation. Ever since the Founding Fathers created the Electoral College, Congress has tried to overturn it. The latest attempt is taking place not in Congress, but in state legislatures around the country, where a well-financed campaign by a private California group calling itself "National Popular Vote" (NPV) is proposing an "interstate compact" to circumvent the process for amending the U.S. Constitution. If adopted by states representing a majority of electoral votes, the signatory states would bind themselves to ignore the popular votes within their respective states, and instead allocate their electoral votes to the candidate whom the media proclaimed to be the "national popular vote" winner. In this new history of the Electoral College, law professor Robert M. Hardaway lays bare the constitutional loopholes that have allowed this movement to succeed in states representing approximately half the electoral votes necessary to purportedly bind those states to ignore the popular vote of the people within their respective states. The presentation of the information in this book to state legislatures considering the compact, resulted in complete reversal of preconceived perceptions about how presidential elections should be conducted.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Title Page
• Copyright
• Dedication
• Contents
• Preface
• Acknowledgments
• Chapter 1   Introduction: John F. Kennedy’s Vision of Federalism
• Chapter 2   The Solar System of Government Power
• Chapter 3   Electing a President: The Framers’ Vision
• Chapter 4   The Direct Election Illusion
• Chapter 5   The National Popular Vote Interstate Compact
• Chapter 6   The Grand Compromise and the Unit Vote: Myths and Misdirection
• Chapter 7   Presidential Campaigns and Incentives: “That’s Where the Votes Are”
• Chapter 8   Legitimacy and Certainty
• Chapter 9   The Recount Problem
• Chapter 10   Myths about the Electoral College: A Response
• Chapter 11   Reform: Proposals and Alternatives
• Chapter 12   Conclusion: The Case for Preserving Federalism
• Appendix A. National Popular Vote Interstate Compact: California’s Bill
• Appendix B. Selected Provisions of the U.S. Constitution Relating to the Electoral College
• Notes
• Bibliography
• Index
• About the Author