Its Critics Are Wrong. The Electoral College Is a Bulwark Against Power Grabs.

One must read to the end of The Washington Post’s recent editorial “Abolish the electoral college” before hitting on the real reason the Post’s editors want to upend the long-standing constitutional institution.

“Mr. Trump’s election was a sad event for the nation,” notes the Post. “His reelection would have been a calamity.”

Maybe, maybe not.

That’s a matter of partisan perspective. Those who are genuinely concerned about the future of American governance would be calling to strengthen institutions that provide political stability, not destroy them.

The left is actively working to undermine the integrity of our elections. Read the plan to stop them now. Learn more now >>

But when your concerns about “American democracy” are really just a euphemism for partisan power grabs, you end up making lots of sloppy arguments. Like this:

It is alarming that a candidate came so close to winning while polling more than 5 million fewer votes than his opponent nationwide. The Electoral College, whatever virtues it may have had for the Founding Fathers, is no longer tenable for American democracy.

The fact that the Electoral College doesn’t align with the “popular vote” isn’t alarming. It is the point.

If the Electoral College synchronized with the outcome of the direct democratic national vote tally every election, it wouldn’t need to exist. It isn’t a loophole; it is a bulwark.

The Electoral College exists to diffuse the very thing the Post claims is most beneficial; namely, the “overbearing majority,” as James Madison put it.

If majoritarianism is truly always the best means of deciding an issue, then the Post would support a mere majority of states being able to overturn the First Amendment or decide abortion policy.

But if states still matter, then the Electoral College’s “virtues” are far stronger today, in an era when federalism is ignored and Americans are more likely to cluster in urban areas, than it was in the founding generation when Washington was largely powerless.

It is one of the institutions that makes a “democracy” tenable in a truly diverse and sprawling nation.

On the most basic level, the Electoral College helps compel presidents to govern nationally, rather than represent a handful of states. We saw it when former Vice President Joe Biden was forced to temper his positions on fracking and defunding the police because he had to appeal to those outside of urban areas.

If he is to be successful, Biden must govern in ways that are popular to diverse cultural and geographical areas—such as North Carolina, Wisconsin, and Arizona, and not just California and New York.

Running up the score in big states gives partisan activists fodder, but it is irrelevant. If Donald Trump ran for the national vote, he might well have won it by spending all his time in California and New York talking about things that matter to Californians and New Yorkers. The entire dynamics of elections would be different. Our election is geared toward winning states, not people.

It should also be noted that the system The Washington Post wants to nix has been the most stable in the world.

A direct national poll would be a radical change, even by international standards. Most free nations don’t have democratic majority votes for their executives. Parliamentary systems, for example, are not national polls. Between 1935 and 2017, the majority of British voters backed the party that formed a government on only two occasions.

Voters do not even cast a ballot directly for the prime minister. In 2019, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau “lost” the “popular vote.” By eliminating the Electoral College, we are far more likely to spark the creation of smaller parties that would keep presidents from gaining a majority.

Of historical interest: Russia’s Vladimir Putin was elected through a direct national poll.

I will spend the rest of my life pointing out that presidents don’t “win” or “lose” the popular vote—because there is no “popular vote,” nor has there ever been one, nor does anyone compete for it.

Reuters informed us, “Trump’s open defiance of Biden’s victory in both the popular vote and Electoral College appears to be affecting the public’s confidence in American democracy.” The entire statement, from “popular vote” to “American democracy,” makes me cringe.

It’s that kind of coverage that allows The Washington Post and other critics of traditional constitutional governance to convince their audiences that presidents are winning elections even while really “losing” them.

It bodes poorly for our future.

Copyright 2020 Creators.com

COMMENTARY BY

David Harsanyi

David Harsanyi is a senior writer at National Review and the author of “First Freedom: A Ride through America’s Enduring History With the Gun, From the Revolution to Today.” Twitter: @davidharsanyi.

RELATED ARTICLES:

4 Takeaways From the Michigan Senate’s Election Fraud Hearing

How the Left Is Attacking Pro-Life Convictions and Why Conservative Women Must Stand Strong

A Veteran Activist’s 10 Principles for Healing America’s Hurting Communities

A Note for our Readers:

Election fraud is already a problem. Soon it could be a crisis. But election fraud is not the only threat to the integrity of our election system.

Progressives are pushing for nine “reforms” that could increase the opportunity for fraud and dissolve the integrity of constitutional elections. To counter these dangerous measures, our friends at The Heritage Foundation are proposing seven measures to protect your right to vote and ensure fair, constitutional elections.

They are offering it to readers of The Daily Signal for free today.

Get the details now when you download your free copy of, “Mandate for Leadership: Ensuring the Integrity of Our Election System.”

GET YOUR FREE COPY NOW »

EDITORS NOTE: This Daily Signal column is republished with permission. ©All rights reserved.

---