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Preface
This book sets out to put a face on a group of people many Americans know of but know little about—members of the Electoral College. It represents the culmination of a research program started my first year as a professor at Ohio Northern University. The idea for this project emerged while I was still a graduate student at the University of Tennessee. At that time, one of my professors, Lillard Richardson, approached me about collecting some background information on presidential electors. He thought it would make a nice footnote in American government textbooks. Unfortunately, we were not able to pursue the project at that time. What we did learn was that very little was known about this exclusive group. Apart from anecdotal information addressing the service of presidential electors, virtually no systematic research examined these important political players.
I sincerely had no thoughts on the Electoral College when I first considered studying it. It simply seemed an interesting research topic in light of the 2000 election—and one whereby I could get students involved with conducting research. Once I had begun gathering more information