Presidential Electors and the Electoral College: An Examination ...

were very different from one another. Each chapter therefore deals with these distinctions in turn. Particular attention is devoted to understanding how the primary campaigns may have affected the motivations of electors in each of these elections. The data illustrate that in both 2004 and 2008, elector lobbying was something that many electors encountered. Moreover, data from the surveys reveal that a sizeable number of electors considered joining the ranks of past faithless electors.

Chapter 6 seeks to contextualize the findings presented in the previous chapters. Data from each of these election cycles, coupled with consideration of what citizens seek to do in selecting the president of the United States, lead to several conclusions. Americans do not live in a democracy. Instead, the Constitution creates a limited government with republican rule. The Electoral College is one manifestation of this. However, as Thomas Cronin (1996) contended, the evolution of the institution has relegated the office of presidential elector to no more than a rubber stamp of approval on each state’s ballots. The notion of elector discretion discovered in this analysis represents a significant departure from this practice and reveals an unexpected risk to the presidential selection process.

The ultimate aim of this book is not to advocate abolishing the Electoral College. Rather, it is to suggest some housekeeping. What began as a simple project to describe an enigmatic institution has necessitated a move beyond empirical description to the land of normative prescription. I therefore conclude by calling on citizens to reform the system. The problems in the Electoral College system are like a pipe leaking under one’s house: it does not appear to be a large issue today, but in time it can wash the foundation away. Americans cannot afford to wait until that happens. Instead, action should be taken to stop the leak early, instead of waiting for an unnecessary problem to manifest itself—as it certainly will if nothing changes.