Let the People Pick the President: The Case for Abolishing the Electoral College
by Jesse Wegman
View on GoodreadsNYT editorial board writer Jesse Wegman's compact, argument-driven case for abolishing the Electoral College — historical, legal, and political — and his explanation of the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact as the workable path.
Core ideas
- The Electoral College was a compromise designed for problems that no longer exist (no national media, no parties, slaveholder bargaining); it was never meant to work the way it has, and Madison among others later disowned it.
- The "rural protection" defense is structurally false — the EC produces swing-state hyperattention, not rural attention; most rural voters live in non-swing states and are functionally ignored by both parties.
- The NPVIC (states pledging their EC votes to the national popular winner once enough states sign on) is the practical path that doesn't require a constitutional amendment; the book argues it's within striking distance.
Published2020
Pages304
ISBN9781250221971
ReadJan 2025
