3. Men of Discernment

Hamilton: constitutional mastermind, now a hit Broadway musical

The primary reason for establishing the Electoral College, according to everything I've read, was to put the election of the President in the hands of knowledgeable people, chosen by state legislatures, rather than in the hands of ordinary citizens, who may lack the information and discernment to make a good choice. The full explanation was stated by Alexander Hamilton, in the Federalist Papers.

It was equally desirable, that the immediate election should be made by men most capable of analyzing the qualities adapted to the station, and acting under circumstances favorable to deliberation, and to a judicious combination of all the reasons and inducements which were proper to govern their choice. A small number of persons, selected by their fellow-citizens from the general mass, will be most likely to possess the information and discernment requisite to such complicated investigations.

It was also peculiarly desirable to afford as little opportunity as possible to tumult and disorder. This evil was not least to be dreaded in the election of a magistrate, who was to have so important an agency in the administration of the government as the President of the United States. But the precautions which have been so happily concerted in the system under consideration, promise an effectual security against this mischief.

Such a process will ensure that the choice will not be just a popularity contest, Hamilton said, but one based on qualifications.

The process of election affords a moral certainty, that the office of President will never fall to the lot of any man who is not in an eminent degree endowed with the requisite qualifications.

Ironically, this goal was invalidated early in our nation’s history, as state legislatures gradually turned over the job of choosing Electors to the voters. Perhaps Hamilton was right, and we would be better off with a safeguard against the mass hysteria that occurred in the current election, where voters elected a President with the fewest qualifications, the worst judgement, the least respect for the citizenry, and a less formulated plan for running the country than any major candidate in recent memory. I expect that many of you will disagree, but consider that even the Republican leadership was aghast at Donald Trump’s nomination, and their support ranged from lukewarm to outright repudiation. If the Electoral College were still doing the job the Framers intended, Donald Trump would not be elected.

Whether or not you agree with this analysis or not, the fact is that we are going to continue to choose the Electoral College by popular election within each state, and we’re not going back to letting state legislatures choose the Electors. Nor are we going to have a situation where the Electoral College overrides the will of the voters in each state for the good of the country, as a few Clinton supporters have advocated. It’s simply not going to happen. So the primary purpose for the Electoral College simply no longer applies.