Office of the Provost and Executive Vice President for Academics

Distinguished Lecture Series

Title: Faulty Premises: The Flawed Foundations of the Electoral College

George C. Edwards, III
Distinguished Professor of Political Science
Texas A&M University

Tuesday, September 21, 2004 7:30 p.m.
Auditorium, Annenberg Presidential Conference Center
Texas A&M University

Abstract

Perhaps the most important and overlooked legacy of the 2000 presidential election is demonstrating the critical role of the electoral college. It was the electoral college, not the Supreme Court's decision in Bush v Gore , which determined the outcome of the election. If we selected presidents like we select governors, senators, and representatives, Al Gore would have been elected president no matter which chads were counted in Florida.

Is there any justification for a system that may elect the candidate who does not receive the most votes? I will show that for two centuries supporters of the electoral college have built their arguments on a series of faulty premises. The electoral college is a gross violation of the cherished value of political equality. At the same time, it does not protect the interests of small states or racial minorities, nor does it serve as a bastion of federalism. Instead, the electoral college distorts the presidential campaign so that candidates ignore most small states and many large ones and pay little attention to minorities.

I conclude by offering a straightforward approach to selecting the president that maximizes political equality while eliminating the distortions in the political system caused by the electoral college.

About the Speaker

George C. Edwards, III, is a widely published, internationally recognized scholar who has lectured at universities in this country and abroad. He is routinely contacted by national-level print and broadcast journalists for insights on activities of the executive branch and of the President in particular. Dealing with so many disparate audiences has honed Dr. Edwards' skills as presenter and communicator.

Dr. Edwards is one of the leading scholars of the U.S. Presidency. He is the author of numerous books on the presidency published by respected university presses, as well as many peer-reviewed articles in widely-read journals. He is widely recognized as someone who moved the study of the presidency within political science from legalistic or historical descriptions to theoretically-motivated scientific analysis.

Dr. Edwards was appointed to the faculty of Texas A&M University in 1978. He is a Distinguished Professor of Political Science and holds the George and Julia Blucher Jordan Chair in Presidential Studies. He received his bachelor's degree from Stetson University in Florida and his master's and Ph.D. degrees from the University of WisconsinMadison. He is a member of Phi Beta Kappa and Phi Kappa Phi and has received numerous awards and honors including the Decoration for Distinguished Civilian Service from the U.S. Army and a Ford Foundation Fellowship.