Overview

The electoral college is the extraordinarily complex mechanism by which Americans choose their president. Is there any justification for such a system, which may elect the candidate who does not receive the most votes? Today, with two of the last five presidential elections having gone to the popular vote loser and the debacle following the 2020 election, the electoral college's flaws are more apparent than ever. In this fourth edition of the definitive book on the electoral college, George Edwards employs rigorous analysis and systemic data to show how the system violates core democratic principles and does not provide the benefits its advocates claim. With a new chapter focusing on the 2020 election, Edwards addresses justifications for the electoral college that were popular among Trump supporters following the 2016 and 2020 elections. Edwards concludes by offering a straightforward approach to selecting the president that maximizes political equality.

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9781009426268

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Reviews

'The most recent election and its sordid aftermath have only strengthened George Edwards' powerful critique of the Electoral College as a device for selecting presidents. Deftly dismantling the arguments offered by its defenders, Edwards makes a persuasive case that electing presidents by popular vote is not only more democratic but also an eminently workable step toward a healthier national polity. Readers will come away ready to amend the Constitution.' Gary Jacobson, Distinguished Emeritus Professor of Political Science, University of California San Diego 'A valuable update, incorporating new material from the 2016 and 2020 elections. Building on a detailed account of the workings and defects of the Electoral College, Edwards assembles mountains of evidence to eviscerate the arguments made in support of an archaic electoral system that violates the democratic principle that all votes should count equally.' Alexander Keyssar, Matthew W. Stirling, Jr, Professor of History and Social Policy, Harvard University and author of Why Do We Still have the Electoral College?

Author Information

George C. Edwards III is Distinguished Fellow at the University of Oxford and University Distinguished Professor of Political Science and Jordan Chair in Presidential Studies Emeritus at Texas A & M University. He is a senior figure in the study of the presidency and has written or edited twenty-seven books. He was also editor of Presidential Studies Quarterly and general editor of the Oxford Handbook of American Politics. He was a founder and served as president of the Presidency and Executive Politics Section of the American Political Science Association and has held senior appointments at Oxford, the University of London, Sciences Po-Paris, Peking University, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and the US Military Academy at West Point.

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