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Podcast playlist: The people who choose the president
Podcast: The people who choose the president
Jul 28 2020
Three weeks ago the Supreme Court decided what had once seemed like an obscure corner of constitutional law, but which might have huge ramifications for this year's presidential election and beyond: The court ruled unanimously that states could punish or remove members of the Electoral College who refuse to vote for the candidate they were pledged to support.
The "faithless elector" decision is the topic of the latest installment of our podcast partnership with The Democracy Group, a podcast network at Penn State University, to share thought-provoking discussions about efforts to fix the American political system.
<p>In this episode, Democracy Works podcast host and producer Jenna Spinelle leads a discussion with:</p><ul class="ee-ul"><li>Lawrence Lessig, Harvard law professor and prominent democracy reform advocate who argued before the court that electors should be free to vote as they please.</li><li>Meredith McGehee, executive director of Issue One, one of the advocacy groups that filed briefs in the case arguing the states should have the power to punish electors who go rogue.</li><li>Michael Baranowski, a political scientist at Northern Kentucky University who is focused on the practical implications of the court's decision.</li></ul><div class="rm-embed embed-media"><a class="embed-preview-controls__remove material-icons">delete</a><iframe class="embed-preview" data-html="" frameborder="0" height="auto" scrolling="no" src="about:blank" style="width: 300px; height: 150px;" width="auto"></iframe></div><div class="rm-embed embed-media"><iframe allow="encrypted-media" allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" height="232" src="https://open.spotify.com/embed-podcast/episode/7dvJ2UylZoTgT9I8o1Hitu" width="100%"></iframe></div>
From Your Site Articles
- How much do you know about the Electoral College? - The Fulcrum ›
- High court says states can require electors to be faithful - The Fulcrum ›
- Allow us to punish faithless electors, nearly half the states ask ... ›
- Faithless electors decision doesn't address democracy's ills - The ... ›
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A Constitutional Crisis Could be Coming: Why it could take until 2022 to resolve the 2020 election
Jul 27 2020
Organizer: Reform Elections Now
While Joe Biden could win the popular vote, Republican legislators could approve electors for Donald Trump. If the election goes to the House of Representatives, Republicans are likely to win, because, while Democrats have a majority of the seats, each state gets one vote and Republicans currently control a majority of the states.
A disputed election and Constitutional crisis over the counting of mail-in votes would be a disaster for our country. The irony is that while the possibility of having such a crisis is real, there are simple solutions to avoid such a crisis. If we act now, we can get governments to take steps to ensure that mail-in votes are counted quickly and effectively, and the election is settled in 2020, not in 2022. Please join Reform Elections Now to discuss this threat to American Democracy and actions that can be taken now to resolve these problems before they occur.
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Location: Webinar
A Constitutional Crisis Could be Coming: Why it could take until 2022 to resolve the 2020 election
Jul 27 2020
Organizer: Reform Elections Now
While Joe Biden could win the popular vote, Republican legislators could approve electors for Donald Trump. If the election goes to the House of Representatives, Republicans are likely to win, because, while Democrats have a majority of the seats, each state gets one vote and Republicans currently control a majority of the states.
A disputed election and Constitutional crisis over the counting of mail-in votes would be a disaster for our country. The irony is that while the possibility of having such a crisis is real, there are simple solutions to avoid such a crisis. If we act now, we can get governments to take steps to ensure that mail-in votes are counted quickly and effectively, and the election is settled in 2020, not in 2022. Please join Reform Elections Now to discuss this threat to American Democracy and actions that can be taken now to resolve these problems before they occur.
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Location: Webinar
Perspectives on the Electoral College: Is 2020 a Turning Point?
Jul 22 2020
Organizer: R Street Institute
No matter how the popular vote for President comes out on November 3, 2020, Americans will select their President through the electoral college. With a recent Supreme Court case clarifying states ability to control electors and states representing more than 70 percent of the threshold having enacted legislation to join a National Popular Vote Compact, the status and importance of the electoral college is very much up for debate.
Will the aftermath of the 2020 election change these dynamics? Does the current electoral college system advantage one political party over the other? Is the electoral college a bulwark against fraud or not? Our panelists will weigh in on the likely impacts of the court case, the coming election and other dynamics in helping elucidate what the future holds for the electoral college.
Location: Webinar
