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Let the People Pick the President
Let the People Pick the President: The Case for Abolishing the Electoral College | Jesse Wegman
13 posts | 7 read | 20 to read
Wegman combines in-depth historical analysis and insight into contemporary politics to present a cogent argument that the Electoral College violates Americas core democratic principles and should be done away with..." Publishers Weekly The framers of the Constitution battled over it. Lawmakers have tried to amend or abolish it more than 700 times. To this day, millions of voters, and even members of Congress, misunderstand how it works. It deepens our national divide and distorts the core democratic principles of political equality and majority rule. How can we tolerate the Electoral College when every vote does not count the same, and the candidate who gets the most votes can lose? Twice in the last five elections, the Electoral College has overridden the popular vote, calling the integrity of the entire system into questionand creating a false picture of a country divided into bright red and blue blocks when in fact we are purple from coast to coast. Even when the popular-vote winner becomes president, tens of millions of AmericansRepublicans and Democrats alikefind that their votes didn't matter. And, with statewide winner-take-all rules, only a handful of battleground states ultimately decide who will become president. Now, as political passions reach a boiling point at the dawn of the 2020 race, the message from the American people is clear: The way we vote for the only official whose job it is to represent all Americans is neither fair nor just. Major reform is needednow. Isn't it time to let the people pick the president? In this thoroughly researched and engaging call to arms, Supreme Court journalist and New York Times editorial board member Jesse Wegman draws upon the history of the founding era, as well as information gleaned from campaign managers, field directors, and other officials from twenty-first-century Democratic and Republican presidential campaigns, to make a powerful case for abolishing the antiquated and antidemocratic Electoral College. In Let the People Pick the President he shows how we can at long last make every vote in the United States countand restore belief in our democratic system.
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Sharpeipup
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Seems fitting for Election Day.

BookwormAHN I wish they would do that. 13mo
39 likes3 stack adds1 comment
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Amiable
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Just got my latest order.

BarbaraBB My long time wish for the US! 4y
Hooked_on_books I found this book very enlightening and am now fully on board with doing away with the electoral college. 4y
Amiable @Hooked_on_books I have long been an advocate as well —I‘m planning to give this to my boss who thinks the electoral college is the best thing for our country. 🙄😖 4y
Amiable @BarbaraBB Mine, too! 👍🏼 4y
69 likes4 comments
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Hooked_on_books
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Pickpick

Using history and factual information, Wegman details here how the Electoral College system actually leaves out the majority of the electorate and how fixing this issue is nonpartisan. This is a very informative, readable book. I suspected the EC was likely a bad thing and now I‘m sure of it. A great read for anyone curious about the US electoral system.

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BarbaraTheBibliophage
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Pickpick

Feel like your vote for President doesn‘t really count b/c of the Electoral College? You‘re not wrong. And Wegman explains why. More importantly, he explains what‘s happening to make every vote count equally towards electing our Presidents. This is a bipartisan effort and book (which you know is rare for me). Very approachable if you‘re not much of a political reader. 4/5 stars

Full review http://www.TheBibliophage.com #thebibliophage2020

MsMelissa I‘m not American, so as an outsider I can say that I don‘t understand the U.S. Electoral College system at all. But our system isn‘t perfect either. Our current Prime Minister‘s political party lost the overall popular vote in our last election, but still won more seats in the House of Commons so they‘ve formed a minority government. 4y
Kimberlone I live in Alaska and this could not be more true. We only get 3 electoral votes AND by the time polls close at 8 pm, it‘s already midnight on the east coast so the outcome has already basically been decided. I 100% believe that it should be one man, one vote. The politics of changing the electoral college has nothing to do with it, it‘s just plain unfair. 4y
See All 6 Comments
BarbaraTheBibliophage @Book_Fiend_Melissa I think a lot of the various worldwide electoral systems are wonky. But yours and mine (usually) are still better than authoritarian regimes. I‘ll take it! 4y
BarbaraTheBibliophage @Kimberlone Agreed. We do this one person - one vote for every other type of election. States have to make changes to how their electoral votes are awarded (to the national@popular vote winner). The process has started it just needs to keep moving forward. 4y
MsMelissa So true! Personally, I‘d like to see Canada move to a proportional representation system. 4y
83 likes3 stack adds6 comments
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BarbaraTheBibliophage
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#audiobookandhook I spent a few hours today making a blue coaster and a yellow cast iron handle cover. This book—I keep having to rewind!

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BarbaraTheBibliophage
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Diving into this one. I‘ve been threatening to start it for weeks. Now is the time! #netgalley #arc #alwaysbehind

CoffeeK8 This was great but also enraging 4y
eraderneely We‘re voting on this in Colorado this fall! 4y
BarbaraTheBibliophage @CoffeeK8 Yes, I‘m already feeling that. 4y
BarbaraTheBibliophage @eraderneely Super! This book has all the details ... 4y
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CoffeeK8
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Pickpick

Get rid of the Electoral College, stat! I had always vaguely believed this with no data or real understanding of the history. This book gave me a firm understanding of it‘s original purpose, how it‘s changed over time and why it‘s unfair/unequal. Highly recommend this book, even if you are against the idea.

Megabooks I am totally against the EC! 4y
MemoirsForMe 🙌🏻🙌🏻🙌🏻 4y
50 likes1 stack add2 comments
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CoffeeK8
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9 books read this week (let‘s hear it for summer vacation 🎉)
🎧 3 audiobooks
🏛 2 library loans
3 books by BIPOC authors
#bookreport #weeklyreading

Bookzombie What a great week!!! 4y
39 likes1 comment
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CoffeeK8
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I had company on today‘s #audiowalk.

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CoffeeK8
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Today‘s #audiowalk before the rain & a beautiful flower from my garden (I don‘t remember what it‘s called)

SamAnne Beebalm! 4y
BarbaraTheBibliophage I call these my Muppet plants! @SamAnne 😎 4y
42 likes2 comments
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Floresj
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Pickpick

This book is a great history of the Electoral College (the way it is run now wasn‘t exactly what the Founding Fathers had in mind). Good arguments, data, and interesting myth debunking. Quick read with plenty to think about. Once again, it‘s about those who have a disproportionate amount of power to change to make one person, one vote a reality.

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eraderneely
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May #bookreport

I genuinely liked everything I read this month. And I‘m looking forward to the other 3, and whatever my book club picks.

Cinfhen I need to pick up this book ~ thanks for putting it back on my radar 4y
eraderneely @Cinfhen it‘s a quiet book, so wait until you‘re in a quiet place in your life 4y
Cinfhen Ok, I will ~ thanks 4y
10 likes3 comments
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Well-ReadNeck
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Pickpick

Highly recommend this well-articulated argument to abolish the Electoral College. I was planning to see the author in a couple of weeks, but the event was canceled. Hope it will be re-scheduled later. #arc #netgalley

BarbaraTheBibliophage Oooh! I need this! Just went to NetGalley and it‘s in my Kindle app now. Yay! Thanks 5y
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