On the eve of the 2024 presidential election, Jesse Wegman, member of The New York Times editorial board and author of Let the People Pick the President: The Case for Abolishing the Electoral College, and Robert Hardaway, professor at the University of Denver Sturm College of Law and author of Saving the Electoral College: Why the National Popular Vote Would Undermine Democracy, join Jeffrey Rosen to debate the Electoral College and preview potential legal challenges that might arise in the aftermath of the election. This program was originally streamed live as part of the NCC’s America’s Town Hall series on October 29, 2024.
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Today’s episode was produced by Tanaya Tauber, Lana Ulrich, Samson Mostashari, and Bill Pollock. It was engineered by David Stotz and Bill Pollock. Research was provided by Samson Mostashari, Cooper Smith, Gyuha Lee, Matthew Spero, and Yara Daraiseh.
Participants
Robert Hardaway is professor of law at the University of Denver Sturm College of Law where he teaches evidence and civil procedure and election law. He is the author of numerous law review articles and books on the Electoral College and election law, including Saving the Electoral College: Why the National Popular Vote Would Undermine Democracy (2019).
Jesse Wegman is a member of The New York Times editorial board, where he has written about the Supreme Court and legal affairs since 2013. He previously worked as a reporter, editor, and producer at outlets including National Public Radio, The New York Observer, Reuters, The Daily Beast, and Newsweek. He is the author of Let the People Pick the President: The Case for Abolishing the Electoral College (2020).
Jeffrey Rosen is the president and CEO of the National Constitution Center. Rosen is also a professor of law at The George Washington University Law School and a contributing editor of The Atlantic. His most recent book is The Pursuit of Happiness: How Classical Writers on Virtue Inspired the Lives of the Founders and Defined America.
Additional Resources
- Robert Hardaway,Saving the Electoral College Why the National Popular Vote Would Undermine Democracy (2019)
- Jesse Wegman, Let the People Pick the President: The Case for Abolishing the Electoral College (2020)
- Electoral College, Article II, Section 1, Clauses 2 and 3, Interactive Constitution
- National Popular Vote
- Ranked Choice Voting
- Article I, Section III, The Senate, Interactive Constitution
- Cass Sunstein, “On Jan. 6, Will Vice President Harris Certify the Election?,” Wall Street Journal, Oct. 25, 2024
- Gary Lawson and Jack Beerman, “Congressional Meddling In Presidential Elections: Still Unconstitutional After All These Years; A Comment On Sunstein," April 2023
- "The Very Real Scenario Where Trump Loses and Takes Power Anyway,” Politico, Oct. 20, 2024
- Moore v. Harper (2023)
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