Time to abolish the Electoral College? A Firing Line forum

Margaret Hoover hosts a forum at Hofstra University on whether America should abolish the Electoral College with writers Jesse Wegman and Trent England.

Wegman, author of “Let the People Pick the President” and a member of The New York Times editorial board, makes the case that the current system is unfair and undemocratic, empowering a handful of swing states to decide who leads the whole country.

England, who founded Save Our States and wrote “Why We Must Defend the Electoral College,” argues the Electoral College makes presidential campaigns both more national and more granular at the same time, forcing candidates to appeal to diverse factions of voters across the country who otherwise would have little influence.

Wegman and England discuss the history of the Electoral College, the intent of the nation’s founders, and how it all relates to slavery. They also debate the merits of a national popular vote and whether other reforms are possible, and they take questions from the student audience.

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