When the Founding Fathers created the Electoral College as
the method for selecting the president, they envisioned an "assembly of
wise men and learned elders" who would vote independently and make up
their own minds about who should be president and vice president.
Over time, however, the Electoral College has not worked out quite as the founders planned. As political parties grew in influence and gained more control over the electoral process, the Electoral College has acted less as an independent voting body and more as a rubber stamp of what the voters do on Election Day.
Now, according to laws in most states, political parties select electors for their party, and when someone votes for a candidate on Election Day they are essentially voting for the electors from that candidate's party. Thus, if the popular vote in a state chooses the Republican candidate, for example, the Republican party's electors will cast the electoral votes for that state — most likely for the Republican candidate. So we pretty much know who will be president shortly after Election Day and weeks before the Electoral College actually votes on the first Monday after the second Wednesday in December.
But does it have to be that way? What if, notwithstanding what the voters did on Election Day, some electors decided that they wanted to act "wise" and "learned" and vote for someone other than their party's candidate? Could we actually have an election where we don't know who will be president until after the Electoral College votes?
The answer to that appears to be a resounding and provocative "yes."
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/opinion/oped/bs-ed-electoral-college-20161020-story.html
Over time, however, the Electoral College has not worked out quite as the founders planned. As political parties grew in influence and gained more control over the electoral process, the Electoral College has acted less as an independent voting body and more as a rubber stamp of what the voters do on Election Day.
Now, according to laws in most states, political parties select electors for their party, and when someone votes for a candidate on Election Day they are essentially voting for the electors from that candidate's party. Thus, if the popular vote in a state chooses the Republican candidate, for example, the Republican party's electors will cast the electoral votes for that state — most likely for the Republican candidate. So we pretty much know who will be president shortly after Election Day and weeks before the Electoral College actually votes on the first Monday after the second Wednesday in December.
But does it have to be that way? What if, notwithstanding what the voters did on Election Day, some electors decided that they wanted to act "wise" and "learned" and vote for someone other than their party's candidate? Could we actually have an election where we don't know who will be president until after the Electoral College votes?
The answer to that appears to be a resounding and provocative "yes."
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/opinion/oped/bs-ed-electoral-college-20161020-story.html
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