Interactive Constitution Essay: James W. Ceaser on the Electoral College

The Electoral College established in Article II, Section I remains in effect, although it operates in a substantially different manner from what was originally envisaged. Much can nevertheless be learned from examining the Founders’ intentions, as there can be no doubt of just how important the selection of the president was to their design of the new government.

It is seldom observed that the Electoral College is the fourth national institution created by the Constitution, going along with the Congress, the presidency, and the Court. Its aim was to govern the entirety of the process of selecting the president and vice president, from the initial function of identifying and winnowing the candidates to the final stage of electing these officers (except when, for lack of a majority, the decision of choosing the president is given to the House of Representatives and the vice president to the Senate). The initial function of winnowing the candidates effectively escaped constitutional governance with the formation of political parties in the early nineteenth century. This task, known now as nomination, is performed by the parties and by state laws and primaries.

The Founders had four main objectives for the Electoral College. First, the Electoral College was created to provide the presidency with its own base of support. The plan was the alternative to another method proposed at the Convention, the selection of the president by Congress, which would have risked making the executive subservient to the legislature.

Second, the Founders sought to supply a basis of popular legitimacy for the president. The Electoral College, under which the Electors would be chosen either by the people or the state legislatures, was under the circumstances of the day a quite popular process. The system, it was thought, would ordinarily hear the public voice.

Third, even with this popular input, the Electors were still representatives having the discretion to choose among the most fit of the candidates. The Founders were especially concerned about the dangers involved in the selection of the president, and they counted on the Electors to block the election of a demagogue. No threat was graver than this to the survival of the constitutional system.

Finally, the Electoral College system was meant to channel the energies of the major political figures who had thoughts of achieving the highest office. If the choice of the president was restricted to those who had a proven record of service, a signal would be sent to all the hopefuls to pursue a serious political career and avoid engaging in what Alexander Hamilton dismissively referred to as “the little arts of popularity.” . . .