“One Difficulty…of a Serious Nature”: The Overlooked Racial Dynamics of the Electoral College

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dc.contributor.authorBlake, William D.
dc.date.accessioned2019-10-23T15:56:11Z
dc.date.available2019-10-23T15:56:11Z
dc.date.issued2019-09-13
dc.description.abstractThis paper explores the racial origins and legacy of the Electoral College through historical and quantitative analyses. At the Constitutional Convention, the Electoral College served the interests of Southern slaveowners by perpetuating the advantage of the Three-Fifths Compromise. Following Reconstruction, Southern states that disenfranchised African Americans received an even larger voice in the Electoral College. Republicans tried to counter these moves by admitting unusually small states into the union. The ironic consequence of this nonracial decision is that, today, these states are heavily White and have citizens with higher levels of racial resentment. A MM-regression analysis of every election from 2000 on indicates the Electoral College has consistently awarded more votes per capita to states with Whiter populations and more racially conservative attitudes. The racially-disparate power exerted by these states makes it more difficult to enact racially-egalitarian policies. This paper adds a new perspective to the normative debate over the Electoral College, which typically focuses on democratic fairness and federalism concerns.en_US
dc.description.urihttps://www.degruyter.com/view/j/for.2019.17.issue-2/for-2019-0019/for-2019-0019.xmlen_US
dc.format.extent29 pagesen_US
dc.genrejournal articlesen_US
dc.identifierdoi:10.13016/m27t4q-jxp0
dc.identifier.citationWilliam D. Blake; “One Difficulty…of a Serious Nature”: The Overlooked Racial Dynamics of the Electoral College; The Forum 17,2; https://doi.org/10.1515/for-2019-0019en_US
dc.identifier.urihttps://doi.org/10.1515/for-2019-0019
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/11603/15968
dc.language.isoen_USen_US
dc.publisherDe Gruyteren_US
dc.relation.isAvailableAtThe University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC)
dc.relation.ispartofUMBC Political Science
dc.relation.ispartofUMBC Faculty Collection
dc.rightsThis item is likely protected under Title 17 of the U.S. Copyright Law. Unless on a Creative Commons license, for uses protected by Copyright Law, contact the copyright holder or the author.
dc.rightsAccess to this item will begin on 2020-09-13
dc.subjectracial originsen_US
dc.subjectlegacyen_US
dc.subjecthistoricalen_US
dc.subjectquantitative analysesen_US
dc.subjectThree-Fifths Compromiseen_US
dc.subjectRepublicansen_US
dc.title“One Difficulty…of a Serious Nature”: The Overlooked Racial Dynamics of the Electoral Collegeen_US
dc.typeTexten_US

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