Overview

It's time to graduate from the Electoral College! This book builds the case against the Electoral College from the perspective of a mathematician, applying a quantitative lens to a systematic and thorough analysis of every presidential election from 1788 to 2020. The motives behind the creation of the Electoral College are examined, along with the motives of those defending the Electoral College and attempts - past and present - to abolish the system. The Electoral College was a last-minute political compromise that, from the very beginning, failed to function as intended, lurching from one disaster or near-disaster to the next. The author presents concise and incisive arguments against the popular myths that the Electoral College was created to protect the interests of small states, rural voters, and slave-owners; and that it has also failed to protect those interests in practice. Instead of being a deliberative and wise body that presents a barrier against a demagogue gaining power, it is chaotic, sensitive to the impacts of everything from fraud to accidental errors in counting ballots to bad weather. Rather than forcing candidates to appeal to the country as a whole, the Electoral College system favors regionally divisive candidates over unifying candidates with broad national appeal. This book is accessible to a general audience but still useful for experts, covering the foibles and flaws of the Electoral College and its track record with a balanced combination of rigor and clarity.

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9781959266013

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Reviews

McIntee gives a comprehensive critique of the Electoral College that includes a consideration of its mathematical failings ... An analytically incisive account of the Electoral College's foibles. - Kirkus Reviews In addition to taking readers on a journey of the Electoral College's role in every election through 2020, McIntee's classification of pivotal, critical, and crucial states will be quite useful to scholars, pundits, and even casual observers of the Electoral College. This is an accessible book that will be especially attractive to critics of the Electoral College. - Robert AlexanderAuthor of Representation and the Electoral College To say that Graduating from the Electoral College is key to understanding the American democratic process is an understatement. This is the book that should be assigned reading from high school upwards, required background reading for any educated voter who wants to enter the modern fray of controversial discussions with more than innuendo and vague notions of the College's history, intentions, and relevance to the power struggles that affect this nation. -D. DonovanSenior Reviewer, Midwest Book Reviews Once their utility passed, three-corner hats, outdoor privies, and horse-drawn carriages were dismissed. It is long past time to drop another eighteenth century relic; one that threatens our democracy: the US Electoral College. This is where, not yours, but the votes of 538 essentially anonymous people elect the President of the US! For political reasons, reform is difficult-until enough people speak out. An excellent place to learn about its history and dangers is this book by McIntee. -Donald G. SaariAuthor of Chaotic Elections! A Mathematician Looks at VotingDistinguished Research Professor, University of California, Irvine This book is a masterpiece, a real page-turner for anyone with an interest, either professional or recreational, in the bizarre system the most powerful country in the world uses to elect the most powerful person in the world. While the author precedes and follows his analysis making no mistake about his opinion of the Electoral College, his analysis remains fair and unbiased, and incredibly thorough. The founders can be forgiven for the flaws in the Electoral College, as they were working without history or context. Later generations might not be so easy on us, though, for allowing partisan politics and misguided perceptions to keep us from moving on from it. -Rick KlimaCo-author of The Mathematics of Voting and Elections: A Hands-On Approach

"""McIntee gives a comprehensive critique of the Electoral College that includes a consideration of its mathematical failings ... An analytically incisive account of the Electoral College's foibles."" - Kirkus Reviews ""In addition to taking readers on a journey of the Electoral College's role in every election through 2020, McIntee's classification of pivotal, critical, and crucial states will be quite useful to scholars, pundits, and even casual observers of the Electoral College. This is an accessible book that will be especially attractive to critics of the Electoral College."" - Robert AlexanderAuthor of Representation and the Electoral College ""To say that Graduating from the Electoral College is key to understanding the American democratic process is an understatement. This is the book that should be assigned reading from high school upwards, required background reading for any educated voter who wants to enter the modern fray of controversial discussions with more than innuendo and vague notions of the College's history, intentions, and relevance to the power struggles that affect this nation."" -D. DonovanSenior Reviewer, Midwest Book Reviews ""Once their utility passed, three-corner hats, outdoor privies, and horse-drawn carriages were dismissed. It is long past time to drop another eighteenth century relic; one that threatens our democracy: the US Electoral College. This is where, not yours, but the votes of 538 essentially anonymous people elect the President of the US! For political reasons, reform is difficult-until enough people speak out. An excellent place to learn about its history and dangers is this book by McIntee.""-Donald G. SaariAuthor of Chaotic Elections! A Mathematician Looks at VotingDistinguished Research Professor, University of California, Irvine ""This book is a masterpiece, a real page-turner for anyone with an interest, either professional or recreational, in the bizarre system the most powerful country in the world uses to elect the most powerful person in the world. While the author precedes and follows his analysis making no mistake about his opinion of the Electoral College, his analysis remains fair and unbiased, and incredibly thorough. The founders can be forgiven for the flaws in the Electoral College, as they were working without history or context. Later generations might not be so easy on us, though, for allowing partisan politics and misguided perceptions to keep us from moving on from it.""-Rick KlimaCo-author of The Mathematics of Voting and Elections: A Hands-On Approach"

Author Information

Tomas McIntee is a cross-disciplinary applied mathematician. He holds degrees in mathematics, physics, and philosophy from Appalachian State University and a doctorate from the Institute of Mathematical Behavioral Sciences within the University of California at Irvine. His research specialty is in the mathematics of voting systems, with an award-winning dissertation titled ""Geometric Tools for Understanding Voting Problems,"" and has published a number of articles about voting systems.

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