The Importance Of The Electoral College

by George Grant

What do George W. Bush, Bill Clinton, Jack Kennedy, Harry Truman, Woodrow Wilson, Abraham Lincoln, and eight other American Presidents have in common? Each received less than a majority of the votes cast in the election that elevated him into the White House. Nevertheless, the Presidency of the United States has enjoyed wide popularity and legitimacy. Why? Simply, the government of this greatest and freest nation the world has ever known has never aspired to or depended upon the forces of pure democracy. Yet the question persists in the minds of How should Americans select their president? Were the Founding Fathers foolish elitists, or brilliant architects of a system designed to safeguard the American people from both tyranny by majority and tyranny by elites? With many Democrats and liberals disappointed over the results of the 2000 presidential election, the raging controversies over vote counting in Florida and the victory of President George W. Bush in 2000 has ignited a debate over the legitimacy of our constitutional process for selecting presidents. The Should we scrap the Electoral College in favor of the direct election of presidents? In this timely primer on the electoral process, Dr. George Grant makes the case for the brilliance, wisdom, and continuing necessity of the Electoral College. This book is a must for students, lawyers, statesmen, pastors, and citizens of all ages interested in understanding and defending the providential system of elections bequeathed to us by our Founding Fathers.

Genres: Politics, History, American History

110 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 2004

About the author

Dr. George Grant is an evangelical educator recognized by a Tennessee newspaper “Review Appeal” as the one who “lives and breathes” education.

Grant is known as a reformed scholar and evangelical activist who hopes to promote sound Christian doctrine, seeking honest answers to honest questions, developing true spirituality and experiencing the beauty of human relationships.

He founded Franklin Classical School, located in Franklin, Tennessee and the King’s Meadow Study Center, which seeks to help the modern church to develop a practical cultural expression of a Christian worldview in art, music, literature, politics, social research, community development and education.

Grant has also produced numerous writings of more than 60 works on the topics relating to theology, school curriculum, arts, fiction and politics.

Reviews

[Aubrey Amundson · Rating 4 out of 5]

A quick read presenting a compelling case for the constitutional Electoral College. The author assumes his reader has some knowledge of the basic function of this institution before reading the book so it may be helpful to overview the system before diving in. America’s founders wisely considered many different aspects of democratic election including the preservation of minority rights (i.e. farmers, African Americans), state/regional sovereignty and equal geographical representation, insuring the qualification of the elected magistrate, guarding against intrigue and corruption, minimizing the affects of voter fraud and maintaining peaceful legal process. To quote from the book: “Very simply, the Electoral College provides protection for minorities against the tyranny of the 51%. The vaunted ‘will of the people’ is not best expressed in the voices of just over half of the people if just under half of the people have their voices ignored.” “What is constitutionalism if not a qualification of majoritarianism?” “…the Constitution and …its sundry amendments relating to Presidential elections provide the clear standard of law, insuring smooth and [peaceable] transfers of power between some four dozen Presidential administrations across the span of more than two centuries.”
The author did not address the Biblical provision for appointing civil magistrates which can be found in 1 Chronicles 11:3 and Exodus 18:14-26 which indicate an electoral process different at its core but similar in concept (representative elders gather to approve a civil magistrate).

[Royce Ratterman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read for personal historical research. I found this work of immense interest and its contents helpful and inspiring - number rating relates to the book's contribution to my needs.
Overall, this work is also a good resource for the researcher and enthusiast.
-Electoral College - Frequently Asked Questions:
https://www.archives.gov/federal-regi...

[Jerry · Rating 5 out of 5]

When people talk about abolishing the electoral college, they're actually talking about ending the country. The fact that they have no idea this is the case makes it worse, not better. Important reading.

[Rob · Rating 5 out of 5]

Grant really brings out the genius and wisdom of the electoral college system of Presidential election. This system protects minorities from "mobocracy" which would be the result of a purely democratic election system.
As an example, the trend of decreasing farmers and increasing urban populations means that a popular election (pure democracy) would allow candidates to focus their policies on the highest concentration of peoples which would also think in a common way about certain issues. A city-dweller doesn't care about the same things a farmer cares about (though a farmer is critically important to the sustainment of urbanites). The electoral college preserves the voice of the minority so that we remain a nation of the rule of law instead of rule of man.
Grant also highlights that the problem is not with the electoral college system but in the administration of that system by the several states method of "winner take all".
A very good discussion that sheds much needed light on the controversy of the 2000 election.

[Somnite · Rating 4 out of 5]

An in-depth look at the process of the electoral college and a truly non-partisan look at the history of the organization and its function today, as well as why the cries of "no fair" are unfounded.

Warning, this book was written by a Christian HOWEVER his beliefs have no effect on his writing except giving him the ability to be honest and non-partisan in his presentation.

I have so far found this book to be very education and interesting. The book by its very nature is wordy and legal, because it is explaining a political process, which is why I took away the fifth star.

[Adam Ross · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really good (and brief) defense of the electoral collage.