The Electoral College was conceived for just the kind of national leadership crisis we now face.

Originally published October 24, 2016, Public Discourse (www.thepublicdiscourse.com)

In ordinary times, members of the Electoral College have a boring, honorific task. They’re the ones we’ll actually select when we vote on November 8^th. There are 538 of them; each state gets electors equal to the number of its Representatives plus its two Senators. About six weeks after Election Day, they meet, once, in their respective state capitals to cast their votes for the presidential candidates who won the popular vote in their respective states. They rubber-stamp the results and go home to watch the pre-ordained outcome unfold on TV.

But these are not ordinary times. Read more