Last week’s US presidential election once again revealed fractures in the democratic principles of the Electoral College. President-elect Joe Biden has consistently led in the counting of the popular vote in this election and has over five million more votes than President Donald Trump. However, the Electoral College renders the popular vote moot. Instead, winning state elections is the key to winning the White House. Doug Becker speaks with Jeremi Suri and Sanford Levinson about the Electoral College and whether it needs to be reformed.
Jeremi Suri is a Professor of History at the University of Texas, Austin. He is an expert in American history and is the author of The Impossible Presidency: The Rise and Fall of America’s Highest Office.
Sanford Levinson is a Professor of Government at the University of Texas. He is an expert in constitutional law and is the author of Our Undemocratic Constitution: Where the Constitution Goes Wrong (And How We the People Can Correct It).
Podcast:
This interview originally aired on the Scholars’ Circle. To access our archive of episodes and download this interview, click here.
For more of our audio and visual content, check out our YouTube channel, or head to the University of Auckland’s manuscripts and archives collection.
Disclaimer: The ideas expressed in this discussion reflect the views of the guests and not necessarily the views of The Big Q.
You might also like:
Podcast: The Americans: US Election 2020 🔊
How will Amy Coney Barrett’s Supreme Court nomination shape American politics? 🔊
