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Article: THE OLD COLLEGE TRY.(duties and part played in presidential elections by Electoral College)
- Article from:
- New York Times Upfront
- Article date:
- December 11, 2000
- Author:
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Does the Electoral College need an overhaul?
This year's presidential election has renewed an old debate about an 18th-century institution that critics say is unnecessary, archaic, and even dangerous to the will of the majority--the Electoral College.
That institution acts as an intermediary between the popular vote and the actual selection of a President, and has always had the potential of awarding the presidency to a candidate who did not carry the popular vote. Laurence H. Tribe, an expert on constitutional law at Harvard Law School, has described it as "a train wreck waiting to happen." Twice in the 19th century, in fact, the candidate who won the ...