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Saving The Electoral College: Why The National Popular Vote Would Undermine Democracy, Robert M. Hardaway
Saving The Electoral College: Why The National Popular Vote Would Undermine Democracy, Robert M. Hardaway
Sturm College of Law: Faculty Scholarship
Ever since the Founding Fathers created the Electoral College, Congress has tried to overturn it. The latest attempt is taking place not in Congress, but in state legislatures around the country, where a well-financed campaign by a private California group calling itself "National Popular Vote" (NPV) is proposing an "interstate compact" to circumvent the process for amending the U.S. Constitution. If adopted by states representing a majority of electoral votes, the signatory states would bind themselves to ignore the popular votes within their respective states, and instead allocate their electoral votes to the candidate whom the media proclaimed to be …
The Compact Clause And National Popular Vote: Implications For The Federal Structure, Robert M. Hardaway, Tara Ross
The Compact Clause And National Popular Vote: Implications For The Federal Structure, Robert M. Hardaway, Tara Ross
Sturm College of Law: Faculty Scholarship
The Electoral College is a vital part of the Founders' federalist Constitution. NPV pretends to be in line with this federalist structure, but its claims are disingenuous. In reality, NPV would destroy the federalist nature of the presidential election process. A system that today operates as a combination of democracy and federalism would change: It would instead operate as pure democracy. This change from federalism to pure democracy would be made even if a majority of states disapproved. As a policy matter, eliminating federalism from the presidential election process will have many practical consequences that make such a change inadvisable. …
The Electoral College And The Constitution : The Case For Preserving Federalism, Robert M. Hardaway
The Electoral College And The Constitution : The Case For Preserving Federalism, Robert M. Hardaway
Sturm College of Law: Faculty Scholarship
This study examines how the Electoral College actually works, how it is supposed to work, and how it might be reformed. Robert Hardaway first looks at the Constitutional Convention, the Twelfth Amendment, and historical elections where the Electoral College has come into play, providing the historical background to the present-day College.