- https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009426275.003
How the Electoral College Works
Translate Article 
The electoral college is an extraordinarily complex mechanism for selecting a president. State and national laws drawn to implement the electoral college system have only added to the complexity—and the risks of a malfunction. The allocation of electoral votes among the states may not accurately represent the citizens resident in those states. Electors are not wise elites, and they may make errors or violate their charges when casting their votes. The constitutional provisions and laws required to implement the electoral college are open to multiple interpretations and may well involve Congress and the courts in partisan wrangling over which candidate won a state and which electoral votes to count. Their decisions may misrepresent the public’s wishes. Donald Trump’s attempts both to create alternative slates of electors and to reject certified electors from states won by Joe Biden could only occur because there was an electoral college. The absence of a right to vote in presidential elections is certainly inconsistent with our notions of democracy. Similarly, the selection of the ultimate choosers of the president—electors—by party committees is contrary to our notions of transparency and popular participation. Allowing a state legislature to choose the winning slate of electors of a state makes a mockery of popular selection of the president.
- Research Article
- 10.2139/ssrn.2874595
- Nov 23, 2016
- SSRN Electronic Journal
With the election of Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, questions have arisen regarding the validity of having an Electoral College instead of a simple popular vote. Analyzing state-level election data reveals that in this case, the Electoral College better represents the Will of the People.
- Preprint Article
- 10.64628/aai.4mtdxprq9
- Jul 20, 2023
Michigan AG charges 16 people in fake electors scheme: 4 essential reads on how the Electoral College works
- Book Chapter
- 10.12987/9780300249651-004
- Aug 20, 2019
Chapter 2. How the Electoral College Works
- Book Chapter
1 - 10.12987/yale/9780300243888.003.0002
- Aug 20, 2019
This chapter discusses how the electoral college works. It shows that the popular election every fourth November is only the first step in a complex procedure that should culminate in the formal declaration of a winner two months later. In fact, under the Constitution, the November election is not for the presidential candidates themselves but for the electors who subsequently choose a president. All that the Constitution says of this stage of the election process is that “each state shall appoint, in such manner as the legislature thereof may direct, a number of electors, equal to the whole number of Senators and Representatives to which the state may be entitled in Congress.” The chapter thus discusses the roles and functions of the electors and Congress, as well as extreme cases such as when disputed votes occur or when a presidential candidate or president-elect dies.
- Book Chapter
- 10.2307/j.ctvmd868v.6
- Aug 20, 2019
How the Electoral College Works
