Stepwise Presidential Election Reform: The Biased Proportional Plan and Its Implementation

Abstract

A major problem stemming from the current method of electing the President of the United States is the phenomenon of swing states. Our goal in this paper is to find implementable reform that addresses this issue. We focus on finding a solution that will receive broad, bipartisan support and that will eliminate, or at least drastically reduce, the effect of swing states. Our main tool for achieving this objective is a game-theoretic treatment of the states. We design a system that keeps the Electoral College, requires no constitutional amendment, and can be implemented gradually - only two states change their method of allocating electoral votes at any one time. The states are treated as strategic agents, and the transitions from the current to the new system are compatible with the incentives of both Republican- and Democratic- leaning states.