Independence Institute helps win court ruling protecting presidential electors
The framers modeled the Electoral College on indirect election systems then prevailing in Scotland and Maryland, in which elector discretion was pivotal.
How our presidential election system works
Some writers claim the framers adopted an indirect election procedure because they didn’t trust democracy. This is an oversimplification. The framers balanced many factors.
National Popular Vote: Banana republic elections
In the 2006 Nicaraguan election, a plurality of only 38 percent elected socialist Daniel Ortega. Once in office, Ortega did what socialist thugs commonly do: suppress opposition. Nicaragua has not had an honest election since.
CATO: A Critique of the National Popular Vote
Read John Samples policy paper on the reasons states should not join the National Popular Vote compact.
Why the “National Popular Vote” scheme is unconstitutional
NPV . . . with or without congressional approval . . . violates a central principle of constitutional law.
National Popular Vote is a partisan power grab
Let’s stop pretending the National Popular Vote movement is some grand, noble cause that will fix what’s wrong with America. It’s a partisan power grab. Nothing more.
The Electoral College is still right for America
It is not true, as some claim, that the Founders acted only out of distrust of democracy. Rather, the system was a brilliant response to a complicated set of issues.
II Court Brief Uphold’s Founders’ View of Electoral College
But a “friend of the court” brief filed by the Independence Institute has shredded one of the key defenses.
Presidential Elector Discretion: The Originalist Evidence
[T]he Hamilton Electors have good cause to claim the mantle of originalism.
What Does the Founding Era Evidence Say About How Presidential Electors Must Vote? – 5th in a Series on the Electoral College
Comments from [the ratification] debates generally show that the ratifiers understood presidential electors were to exercise their own judgment when voting.
What Does the Founding Era Evidence Say About How Presidential Electors Must Vote? – 4th in a Series on the Electoral College
The two leading precedents in the English speaking world both reinforced dictionary definitions: Electors were to think for themselves.
The Electoral College In Context—or Some Interesting Stuff You Might Not Have Thought About – 3rd in a Series
The Electoral College is not part of the U.S. government, nor are the electors government officials.
