Oh, wow, who would have believed that our electoral college system would be the source of so much controversy today? Heck, I taught this stuff to my senior American government class for decades. On its face it was simple enough. Our founding fathers and mothers realized that all states had to be equal regardless of their size or population, so they designed the electoral college system. Lots of legalize, but there was one isolated element that had the feel of humanity rather than legal jargon. After the election, the state governments would select โelectorsโ according to the outcome of the election. They would then be the ones who would go to the D.C. capitol and submit their electoral votes to the vice president.
So, what was the โlittle segmentโ that was so moving? As it is written, the โelectorsโ are not bound by the Constitution to vote according to their stateโs outcome. Yes, they could actually vote for whomever they wanted. Thatโs the point! Our system depended on trust and honor, not just laws that could be circumvented. Since our Constitution was founded that trust and honor was, if I remember correctly, violated by only two electors. Then came the 2020 election, Donald Trump and his Republican base, and we seem to have lost trust and honor as factors of presidential and other levels of American elections. With the conclusion of the congressional hearings and potential prosecutions trust and honor may yet return as the base of our Constitution. Stay tuned.
Concord