The Twenty-Eighth Amendment?: Beyond Abolishing the Electoral College

The Electoral College was adopted by the framers of our Constitution as a method of ensuring that our presidents would be well-qualified statesmen. But this goal has been thwarted by changes in our “unwritten constitution,” resulting in a deeply flawed electoral process that is far removed from Constitutional provisions. Reformers frequently seek to abolish the Electoral College and replace it with a process that gives the presidency to the candidate winning the most popular votes, but that alternative provides poor inoculation from charismatic charlatans. Paul Schumaker, a retired professor of political science, employs the techniques of memoir to convey the evolution of his thinking about this issue, to warn us against adopting such pretenders as the “Interstate Compact,” and to prescribe a national process that weds concerns for more acceptable candidates with our common democratic values. Covering the past, the present, and the future, this book concisely informs the public about a current issue of enduring importance for American politics.