That electors were not given a briefing suggests they were not viewed by the Obama administration as having the role Hamilton envisioned. About six weeks after the election, electors meet in their respective state capitols to cast their votes for president and vice-president. Ironically, Federalist 68 devotes attention to the role of the Electoral College in protecting the country from foreign interference in our presidential selection process. The second and perhaps more direct option is to ditch the Electoral College in favor of a national popular vote. Robert Alexander, a political science professor and author of 'Representation and the Electoral College', discusses faithless electors and their impact in an election. The Electoral College Was Terrible From the Start It’s doubtful even Alexander Hamilton believed what he was selling in “Federalist No. As a global organization, we, like many others, recognize the significant threat posed by the coronavirus. Please contact our Customer Service Team if you have any questions. They are frequently lobbied to use their discretion, and many consider doing so. Focusing on the controversial 2016 election, in which Trump received nearly three million fewer popular votes than Clinton, Representation and the Electoral College shows how the Electoral College acts on behalf of the American public and alters election outcomes. In the wake of the 2016 "misfire" election, Alexander's is that book. You forget they exist until there is a problem. DedicationAcknowledgments Chapter 1: IntroductionChapter 2: Theories of RepresentationChapter 3: The Founding and Evolution of the Electoral CollegeChapter 4: Federalism and the Electoral CollegeChapter 5: The Popular Vote and Misfires in the Electoral CollegeChapter 6: Presidential Electors as Agents of RepresentationChapter 7: Alexander Hamilton and the 2016 ElectionChapter 8: Reform Efforts and Thoughts on the Electoral College. -- M. D. Brewer, University of Maine, CHOICE, "Every decade or so there is an important new book on the Electoral College. The Founding and Evolution of the Electoral College The Founding and Evolution of the Electoral College Chapter: (p.45) 3 The Founding and Evolution of the Electoral College Source: Representation and the Electoral College Author(s): Robert M. Alexander Publisher: Oxford University Press In Federalist 68, Hamilton argued that the Electoral College would provide "a moral certainty, that the office of president will never fall to the lot of any man who is not in an eminent degree endowed with the requisite qualifications" and members of the Hamilton movement believed that Trump fell short of those qualifications. Robert Alexander, a political science professor at Ohio Northern University and author of 'Representation and the Electoral College' breaks down the history and representation of … The question before the court stems from two cases, Chiafalo v. Washington and Colorado Department of State v. Baca, both of which challenge a state's authority to compel an elector to vote for a specific candidate. During this time, we have made some of our learning resources freely accessible. View more opinion at CNN. Representation and the Electoral College Robert M. Alexander Abstract. If advocates of the Electoral College wish to hold true to the original body, then they should be fine with independent electors and have no problem giving up their right to vote for president. It would appear that Suprun, Greene, Vu, and Sisneros were not alone in their concerns with Trump and a real audience existed within the Electoral College to deny him the presidency. In the aftermath of the 2016 election, heated calls to abolish the Electoral College were made in large part because the winning candidate received nearly 3 million fewer votes from across the country than their opponent. This would ensure the winner of a state's popular vote receives all of the electoral votes they earn. Robert Alexander is a professor of political science at Ohio Northern University and the author of "Representation and the Electoral College." If subverting the will of the people is at the heart of concerns over faithless electors, then moving to the direct election of the president would seem to be the logical solution. He is the author of four books and has served on the National Executive Committee for Pi Sigma Alpha and on the National Liaison Advisory Board for The Washington Center for Internships and Academic Seminars. While the. Representation and the Electoral College Robert M. Alexander. Do be advised that shipments may be delayed due to extra safety precautions implemented at our centers and delays with local shipping carriers. Presents never-before-published surveys of presidential electors from the 2016 election; Includes an in-depth analysis of the 2016 election in the context of the Electoral College; Collects the most robust treatment of the Electoral College in over a decade Our distribution centers are open and orders can be placed online. What role do electors play in American democracy? This outstanding work is an excellent primer for those who wish to unpack the core elements of the Electoral College and come to grips with this antidemocratic aspect of America's struggling democracy.-" His pioneering work on presidential electors has positioned him as an expert on the Electoral College. Nearly 800 proposals have been made to amend or abolish the Electoral College, and its divisiveness raises many questions. UNE Center for Global Humanities and its founding director, Anouar Majid, host Robert Alexander on "American Democracy and the Electoral College." -- Jeffrey S. Peake, Professor of Political Science, Clemson University, "Robert Alexander, master of all things related to the Electoral College, approaches this paradoxical institution with clarity and balance. While the thought of upending Trump in the Electoral College seemed far-fetched, the consideration among Republican electors was more widespread than I expected. -- Lilly Goren, New Books Network, "Alexander provides a thorough, thoughtful, balanced analysis, carefully and engagingly shedding light on the multiple ways the Electoral College affects the nature of representation in the US. It has withstood over 700 attempts to amend or abolish it and it is unlikely to witness constitutional change in the near future. Presents never-before-published surveys of presidential electors from the 2016 election; Includes an in-depth analysis of the 2016 election in the context of the Electoral College; Collects the most robust treatment of the Electoral College in over a decade We now have the hindsight of the Mueller investigation and impeachment proceedings, but even in December of 2016, electors had questions about foreign interference in the election. Learn more about these useful resources on our COVID-19 page. Alexander frames the book with the theoretical conundrum of representation, unpacking different kinds of representation and how these competing interpretations of representation have contributed to the ways in which voters, parties, candidates, and electors approach the Electoral College and understand its function within the American constitutional system." In the, In the weeks prior to the meeting of the Electoral College in 2016, the so-called, Although Hillary Clinton had won the popular vote, members of the Hamilton movement were not looking to select her as the president. Instead, they suggested that electors could band together to select a unity candidate. This book helps readers to understand the distinction and how we got where we are today. At the outset, I indicated how resilient the Electoral College has been to change. The opinions expressed in this commentary are his own. “It could be the autonomy of electors is going to come under very close scrutiny,” said Robert Alexander, an Electoral College expert from Ohio Northern University. It will be front and center Wednesday when the Supreme Court hears arguments concerning a seemingly small but essential part of the complicated process we use to select the president and vice-president of the United States. The fact is that the Electoral College created by the Framers bears little resemblance to the process we now have. Electors almost always vote as expected for the candidate to whom they are pledged and their day in the sun often passes with little notice. We have witnessed faithless electors in. This suggests as many as 60 Republican electors at least thought about not voting for Trump, indicating that the Hamilton electors were right to think that at least 37 Republican electors were uneasy about Trump carrying their party's banner. Much confusion surrounds this institution, in large part because of how the original Electoral College varies from its contemporary counterpart, the evolved Electoral College. Sign up for CNN Opinion's new newsletter. "It is an extraordinary contribution — not just the theoretical parts about representation, but especially the empirical work about electors." While addressing the problem of faithless electors, such an amendment would require states to address how they would handle the death of a candidate during the interregnum period --. The purpose of the study is to help readers understand the ways in which the institution does or does not align with expectations relating to representative democracy. "Robert Alexander, master of all things related to the Electoral College, approaches this paradoxical institution with clarity and balance. Dr. Robert Alexander is a professor of political science and the Founding Director of the Institute for Civics and Public Policy at Ohio Northern University in Ada, Ohio. Juliet Christian-Smith, Peter H. Gleick, Heather Cooley... Adam Roberts, Michael J. Willis, Rory McCarthy... H. Jefferson Powell and Philip C. Bobbitt, Social Sciences > Politics > US Politics Social Sciences > Politics > Political Institutions Social Sciences > Politics. In the 2016 United States presidential election, ten members of the Electoral College voted or attempted to vote for a candidate different from the ones to whom they were pledged. In my. If the Supreme Court is to remain faithful to the Constitution, it is likely it will permit the continued existence of faithless electors. Robert Alexander is a professor of political science and the Founding Director of the Institute for Civics and Public Policy at Ohio Northern University in Ada, Ohio. This book evaluates the Electoral College as it relates to relevant theories of representation. Three of these votes were invalidated under the faithless elector laws of their respective states, and the elector either subsequently voted for the pledged candidate or was replaced by someone who … His pioneering work on presidential electors has positioned him as an expert on the Electoral College. Will Hamilton electors throw away their shot? Drawing on historical primary source materials, original surveys of presidential electors, and previous scholarly work, Alexander explores the Founders' design of and original intent for the Electoral College and looks at how the institution has consistently evolved away from its origins. Should the Electoral College exist at all? Concerns raised by Republican electors gave them some hope. The Supreme Court's decision to hear arguments regarding faithless electors -- those who do not vote for their party's registered candidate -- suggests a significant problem requiring a remedy before the 2020 election. Alexander frames the book with the theoretical … He is the author of two books on the Electoral College, including most recently Representation and the Electoral College, Oxford University Press, 2019. In the days leading up to the 2016 Electoral College vote. I have been surveying presidential electors for nearly two decades and have discovered a great deal more is going on within this mysterious body than I previously imagined. Robert Alexander — professor of political science and founding director of the Institute of Civics and Public Policy at Ohio Northern University in Ada and author of the 2019 book, Representation and the Electoral College — says prospective electors lobby for their positions at the party conventions. Oxford University Press is a department of the University of Oxford. Robert Alexander is a professor of political science at Ohio Northern University and the author of "Representation and the Electoral College." Why Democrats hate the Electoral College and Republicans love it. Dr. Alexander is a professor of political science and the Founding Director of the Institute for Civics and Public Policy at Ohio Northern University. In 2008, for instance, 83% of all electors were contacted to change their votes -- including 9 out of 10 Democrats.These Electoral College lobbyists argued that Barack Obama was ineligible to serve as president as they falsely claimed he was not an American citizen. Federalism is a key focus. In 2016, however, 20% percent of Republican electors responding to the survey gave some consideration to voting for someone other than Donald Trump. Still, regardless of the court's ruling, few will agree with Hamilton that if the Electoral College is ", "Representation and the Electoral College.". Robert Alexander’s new book, Representation and the Electoral College (Oxford University Press, 2019) is an important analysis of the Electoral College, from the debates about it at the constitutional convention and during the early days of the republic to contemporary controversies that surround this unique construction. It is "a means to vent," says Robert Alexander, a political scientist at Ohio Northern University and Electoral College expert. Robert Alexander on the set of CNN special report "Count on Controversy: Inside the Electoral College." This book is available as part of Oxford Scholarship Online - view abstracts and keywords at book and chapter level. Robert Alexander’s knowledge regarding the Electoral College comes as a result of his Centrist political views The important thing to note about centrists, Alexander stressed, is that the only thing they strongly oppose is any factor tending to enforce a dominance of either the Republican or Democratic party. I have discovered that stealthy campaigns to get electors to change their votes regularly occur. The author closes with insightful thoughts on possible reform options.
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