Concerned about problems in counting Electoral College votes that determine the next president, lawmakers are considering changes to the Electoral Count Act. What is the act, and what’s wrong with it?
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Articles on Electoral College
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The debate about the U.S. Electoral College pits those who think the president should be chosen via popular vote versus those who believe the interests of small and large states must be balanced.
The term can be traced back to the Founding Fathers.
The process of counting and certifying the Electoral College votes usually generates very little attention. Not so this year, with rebel Republicans planning to challenge the votes in several states.
The 1887 Electoral Count Act spells out the process for Congress to convene and review election results on Jan. 6, and it requires both the House and Senate to uphold any challenges to Biden’s win.
Since 1890, Mississippi has required candidates for statewide office to win not only more votes than opponents across the whole state, but also in every legislative district.
Five scholars explain different aspects of the history, workings and effects of the Electoral College.
The Electoral College ignores a key democratic principle: one person, one vote.
The transition between Donald Trump and Joe Biden has formally begun, yet the outgoing president still refuses to concede. How far can he go and has such a situation been experienced in American history?
President Donald Trump may be trying to get state lawmakers to shift the outcome of the presidential election.
Wisconsin proved to be the ‘tipping point’ state in the US presidential election, which Joe Biden won by just 0.6% - despite being likely to win the popular vote by 4-5%.
As Donald Trump continued to stoke his base with false allegations of a ‘rigged’ election, violence at the U.S. Capitol shows America has devolved into a fragile state.
What did this year’s election maps rightly or wrongly tell us?
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.
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.
The result of the 2020 US election remained unclear.
The polls and pundits say Joe Biden will win, but they’ve been wrong before. So what will be the early indicators of whether Donald Trump stays or goes?
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.
Federal election law is riddled with uncertainties. And that’s not a good situation for the country if it finds itself in the middle of a contested election.
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.
Top contributors
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Professor, Political Science Department, College of the Holy Cross
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Lead Academic Teacher - Politics & Social Science (Swinburne Online), Swinburne University of Technology
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Associate Provost and Associate Dean of the Faculty and Cromwell Professor of Jurisprudence and Political Science, Amherst College
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Professor of Political Science, LaGrange College
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Election Analyst (Psephologist), The Conversation
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Associate Professor of Political Science, Erie Campus, Penn State
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Associate Professor of Political Science, UMass Lowell
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Assistant Professor of Political Science, University of Maryland, Baltimore County
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Associate Professor of Political Science, Rochester Institute of Technology
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Assistant Professor of Political Science, Westminster College
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Assistant Professor RTPC of Mathematics, USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences
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J.F. Ackerman Professor of Social Studies Education; Director, Ackerman Center; Associate Director, Purdue Center for Economic Education, Purdue University
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Professor of Constitutional Law, New York University
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Member of the Emeritus Faculty, Australian National University
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Associate Professor in American Politics at the United States Studies Centre, University of Sydney
