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Interestingly, one of my jr high history/civics teachers talked about this in some detail: the potential of the electorial college to both distort the intent of the Constitution and undermine the democratic process. Our class had a lively discussion. I wonder if this might have been a harbinger of that town moving away from reactionary conservatism toward progressive democracy. (It is now a blue dot in a purply red area). This was in the late 1950s, so it is something that has been recognized for a long time- and as you point out, either ignored or brushed aside. Thank you for a well-done analysis. I hope it punches a hole in that complacency. I agree with you: getting rid of the electoral college is possible, and in a shorter time than we think. We have to stop letting other things get in the way so we can work together without political gamesmanship that accomplishes nothing.

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I, too, had a wizard of a civics teacher. A short, bent over bespectacled chainsmoker, tough as nails intellectually. I think of her often these days, 66+ years later.

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Fantastic analysis of the preconditions necessary to keep the MAGA movement moving. But there still is an individual component here of people in midwest and some western states continuing to vote for MAGA. And an other precondition for this is the decline of organized labor to facilitate voter education as a backdrop to fight extremism. I think MT especially here, where Greatfalls used to have large organized union presence and union Democratic majority. Replaced by now MAGA Rs, and Tester in the fight for his life.

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An unappreciated aspect of the electoral college debate and the emphasis it places on so-called swing states is that it increases our vulnerability to the influence of malicious foreign and domestic influencers. They just have to focus their resources on those swing states! In contrast, it would be both far more difficult and far more expensive to do this if the president were elected by a popular vote.

Our founding fathers were wise but they were not prescient and they did not live in a world with AI, the internet, social media and wealth disparities on scales they couldn’t ever imagine.

This vulnerability should be a national security issue

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Regarding:

"The founders felt an Electoral College representing the most responsible Americans might be needed someday as a check against popular passions which might someday elect an antidemocratic demagogue."

Maybe the NEXT set of electors will get it right. Here's a thought: elect who the people wanted.

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Nice analysis, but are you guys up to analyzing the effects on the quality of democracy when there are no qualifications on voters except being alive, such as taking a fifth grade civics test? Or the naturalization test? However exclusive, being a land owning white person DID improve the quality of voters. Most so qualified could read and write.

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I note you limited your qualification to land owning WHITE person. I guess you were unaware that voting was limited to white men only, with no place for white women and any non white landowning persons.

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Oct 3
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Forgive me if you thought I was responding to your comment. I was actually responding to the prior comment by Ormond!

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