^Ji.rn- VIEWSrn0’a6/ern- RESTORINGrn^ THErnELECTORAL COLLEGErnDon’t Fix Itrnby Stephen B. PresserrnThe Electoral College, as we used to learn and as readers ofrnthis journal will still be aware, was supposed to be a devicernfor remo’ing the choice of the president from the people.rnRather than direct elections, uiiich could lead to the nation’srnchief executive being the best demagogue, wc were supposed tornhave well-ediieated and altruistic electors, ])icked for their wisdomrnand virtue, select a similar man of character to preside oerrnthe nation’s military- might and execute its law s. It did not w orkrnout that wav, of course, and it now seems as if demagogucrx hasrnbecome die chief qualificadon for all public offices, the presidencyrnperhaps most of all.rnThe Framcrs feared fiicHon, and the’ hoped that presidcnhalrnelectors would not be partisans. The’ tried to struchire a federalrnsystem that would not allow the rise of special interests to nationalrndominance, and they thought tiiat, by reserving thernchoice of electors to state legislatures, the’ would make sure dierninterests of the indiidual states woidd be protected by the ElectoralrnCollege. The Electoral College, then, was a device forrnStephen B. Premier is Raoiil Berger Profesfior of Ixigal Hktor}’rnat Northwestern Universit}’ School of Law and the legal-affairsrneditor for Chronicles.rnprotecting dual sovereignU’, or federalism, just as was the Senate,rnwhere each state is entitied to equal representation. ThernFramers would have been horrified if they had imagined ourrnpresent svstem where presidential electors arc not selected byrnstate legislators to serve the interests of their states, but are slatedrnby national political parties, elected by the people of the state atrnlarge, and — if not always sworn — alwa’s understand to vote forrna particular parh candidate. The parties pick their candidates,rnnot for virtue and wisdom, but for popular appeal or to accomplishrna particular political agenda.rnShoidd we then, if we are interested (as we are, here atrnChronicles) in the Old Republic notions of virtue, character,rnand the primaev of state sovereignti’, seek to amend the Constitutionrnto do away with the Electoral College system and substituternsomething more carefully calibrated to reproduce the OldrnRepublic? 1 do not tiiink so. Consider, for the nonce. the factrnthat—as soon as it became clear that Al Core had won the popularrnvote—virtuallv the first act of Senator-elect Hillary RodhamrnClinton was to call for the abolition of the FJeetoral College,rnand that her voice was joined in anthem chorus by a hostrnof media commentators and a brace of other left-leaning redistributionistrnand large-federal-government-h’pe cougresspersons.rn18/CHRONICLESrnrnrn