OA467: Demolishing the Electoral College, with Lawrence Lessig
Added 2021-02-22 06:11:13 +0000 UTCHarvard Law Professor and activist Lawrence Lessig joins us to talk about his ongoing efforts to get rid of the Electoral College. It's a war being fought on multiple fronts, but Professor Lessig's current effort is to force states to assign delegates proportionally. The all or nothing system we have now is not actually written into the Constitution. Listen in for the full breakdown!
Links: Rodriguez v. Newsom cert petition, Baten v. McMaster, 967 F.3d 345
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Comments
Lessig's argument is that if we have a proportional system, candidates will be incentivized to spend time in lots more places, which is certainly true. If (almost) everywhere becomes a "swing state," then candidates have way less incentive to cater to a tiny handful. For example, under Lessig's model, Democrats (32.3%) would earn 2 of Oklahoma's 7 electoral votes. However, if they could increase that share to 35.8% -- that's just gaining 3.5%, which you could probably do simply by opening an office in the state! -- they'd win an entire additional electoral vote. Similar dynamics are at play in a LOT of deep red states like Kentucky, Utah, etc.
Opening Arguments
2021-02-24 21:15:34 +0000 UTCLessig's complaint about the focus on fracking because of Pennsylvania was just *weird*, especially when you consider that PA has 20 electoral votes. Even in a proportional system, candidates are still going to spend time there. They're also going to spend time in Texas, Georgia, Florida, Ohio, and Michigan, aka "the current set of what people call swing states". All the proportional system does is guarantee nobody pays attention to Wisconsin, Arizona, Nevada, and North Carolina-ish.
Pineapple Greyhound
2021-02-23 18:27:46 +0000 UTCre: t3be. I can't find a name for it, but I bet there's a phenomenon akin to the Dunning-Krueger effect where once you gain some experience, you start to get tripped up by questions like this
Salt Prairie Photography
2021-02-22 17:42:39 +0000 UTC
