If you’re like me, you’re
getting very fed up with the electoral college as a way to elect our president.
So is Alexander Keyssar. In today’s New York Times, he writes,
As our revived national conversation on race has made clear, the legacies of slavery and white supremacy run wide and deep in American society and political life. One such legacy — which is particularly noteworthy in a presidential election season — has been the survival and preservation of the Electoral College, an institution that has been under fire for more than 200 years. Our complicated method of electing presidents has been the target of recurrent reform attempts since the early 19th century, and the politics of race and region have figured prominently in their defeat.
He goes on to explain
the role of racism and southern politics in keeping the college in place. Unfortunately,
he does not offer a solution to the twisted situation, just a suggestion that we
keep this “sobering fact” in mind as we prepare for the next presidential election.
