Articles on Electoral College

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If the House of Representatives selects the president, each state would get a single vote – not one vote per House member. iStock/Getty

Congress could select the president in a disputed election

Judges are generally reluctant to decide elections, as the Supreme Court controversially did in 2000. As a result, Trump’s flurry of litigation could wind up throwing the election to the House.
A transcript from the Constitutional Convention records the official report creating the Electoral College. U.S. National Archives

Who invented the Electoral College?

Three approaches were debated during the Constitutional Convention – election by Congress, selection by state legislatures and a popular election, though that was restricted to white landowning men.
CHARLESTON, SC - OCTOBER 30: Jake Hannay casts his in-person absentee ballot at Seacoast Church West Ashley on October 30, 2020 in Charleston, South Carolina. Michael Ciaglo/Getty Images North America/Getty Images Via AFP

US presidential election: the problem is majority voting, not the Electoral College

The majority voting system in the United States, as in virtually every country in the world, imperfectly reflects voter preferences and could once again benefit Donald Trump.
What happens when an election is contested? Gorilla Studio/Getty

A contested election: 6 essential reads

The presidential election outcome seems to be at least partially in dispute. Six scholars provide a history of contested elections in the US and explain what happens when the results are challenged.
Richard Nixon, celebrating his election on Nov. 7, 1968, campaigned against a backdrop of racial inequality, civic unrest and polarized politics. AFP via Getty Images

1968’s presidential election looks a lot like today’s – but it was very different

There are similarities between the law-and-order language used by the 1968 and 2020 presidential candidates and the racial tension and political polarization both years. But much is different.
If the House of Representatives selects the president, each state would get a single vote – not one vote per House member. iStock / Getty Images Plus

How Congress could decide the 2020 election

Biden and Trump are both preparing for a court battle in November. But when the Electoral College produces no clear winner, it’s the House of Representatives that’s supposed to select the president.
The Florida legislature could play a role in deciding the 2020 presidential election. AP Photo/Steve Cannon

Could a few state legislatures choose the next president?

This is not the first time the prospect of state legislatures ignoring the popular vote and appointing their own slate of electors has arisen.
The 2000 presidential election was a rarity in that the winner was not declared on election night. Franklin McMahon/CORBIS/Corbis via Getty Images

Who formally declares the winner of the US presidential election?

No, it’s not the TV news networks. The American election certification process is a lot more complicated than that.
Delegates after Donald Trump accepted the GOP presidential nomination at the Republican National Convention in Cleveland, Ohio on Thursday, July 21, 2016. Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call/via Getty

Political conventions today are for partying and pageantry, not picking nominees

Political conventions used to pick presidential nominees in private. Now the public picks the nominee and then the party has a big party at the convention, writes a scholar of US elections.

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