Director defends Electoral College in new textbook

(March 6, 2020) By GlyptusAnn Grider Jones
Director defends Electoral College in new textbook

McConnell Center Director Gary Gregg, PhD, authored a piece in support of the Electoral College, the long-standing method of selecting U.S. presidents, in a new American government textbook aimed at college students.

Chief among his defense of the electoral college is that it works and maintains presidential elections as "open, free, and fair." Further, it "provide(s) candidates with an incentive to visit or pay attention to small states."

George Edwards, PhD, a University Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Political Science and Jordan Chair in Presidential Studies at Texas A&M University, wrote in favor of abolishing the Electoral College, pointing to, among other factors, an increasing mismatch between the percentages cast using electoral versus popular votes.

Gregg's and Edwards' resolutions are included in "Debating Reform: Conflicting Perspectives on How to Fix the American Political System," edited by Richard J. Elli and Michael Nelson. Published in 2019 by CQ Press, the book considers 20 core debates on reforming political institutions using a "pro" and "con" approach to help students "grapple with claims and evidence to draw their own conclusions and build their own arguments."

Gregg holds the Mitch McConnell Chair in Leadership at the University of Louisville and has written widely on the American founding, the electoral college and presidential leadership. He is the author or editor of ten books and host of the podcast Vital Remnants.