Editor’s note: This commentary is by Paul D. Manganiello, MD, MPH, of Norwich, an emeritus professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth College.
A major factor why Americans are expressing concerns over the integrity of our presidential elections is related to its very process, which is called the “Electoral College.” The Founding Fathers established the provision for electors in our Constitution, out of distrust of the “popular vote” and was a compromise between a presidential vote by Congress or a popular vote of “qualified” citizens. The term “Electoral College” does not even appear in Article II of the Constitution but it does refer to “Electors.”
There have been a number of amendments to the Constitution relevant to the voting process made over time: the 15th Amendment (1869), which gave non-white males the right to vote; the 19th Amendment (1920), which gave women the right to vote; the 22nd Amendment (1951), “no person shall be elected to office of President more than twice”; and the 26th Amendment (1971) which set the minimum age to vote at 18.
There have been many attempts at reforming the Electoral College. Gillian Brockell, writing in the Washington Post on Feb. 5 recalled that the country actually came very close to abolishing the Electoral College in 1968, after the segregationist Alabama Gov. George Wallace ran as a third party candidate. He wanted to deny Richard Nixon or Herbert Humphrey enough electors to win outright. His goal was to then negotiate terms with the other two candidates, for transferring his electors. He wanted to put an end to federal desegregation efforts in Alabama. He came close, but fortunately he failed. In 1969, Sen. Birch Bayh proposed a constitutional amendment for the direct popular vote. It passed the House, but failed in the Senate due to Southern fears of the Black vote. Sound familiar?
It is unlikely during these extremely partisan times that it will be possible to pass a constitutional amendment to abolish the Electoral College. Personally, I find it insulting in this day and age that Vermonters’ votes are not seen to be as important to votes in “battleground” states, such as Florida. What happened to the idea of “one person, one vote”? President-elect Biden surpassed Trump’s vote count by nearly 8 million, why should millions of votes be disenfranchised? Are voters in Florida more qualified than those in Vermont, and if so, how was that determined?
Again, as shown in this election, the Electoral College is a vestige of our past that offers no relevance for today and needs to be resolved. It sows seeds of doubt in the whole presidential electoral process. The current system feeds controversies and conspiracy theories in smoke-filled rooms where deals are made surreptitiously. It also makes it easier for foreign adversaries to target battleground states and dispense disinformation; and it also encourages fraud and corruption through financial largess to those same states by incumbent presidents. This should not be seen as favoring Democrats or Republicans, but affects equity for all our citizens.
There is another option, a state-by-state agreement such as the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact. This would not require a constitutional amendment but would allow states the constitutional option of awarding its electors to the candidate with the most nationwide popular vote. Rather than allotting a winner-take-all of a state’s electors they would be allocated to the individual who received the most popular vote nationwide. There are 538 national electors. If enough states equating 270 electors legislated the allocation of their electors to the candidate with the most popular votes, that candidate would be the winner of that Presidential election. As of Nov. 3, 15 states and the District of Columbia have signed on resulting in 196 electors; only 74 more state electors are needed. To date all of the New England states have passed the necessary legislation to join in the compact, except for New Hampshire and Maine. If you live, or have friends in these states, please encourage them to petition their state legislatures to pass legislation allocating their electors to cast their vote for the candidate with the most popular votes. We cannot allow another presidential candidate an opportunity to game the system ever again. We need to assure our democratic system will never again be compromised.
