On Electoral College: Direct Democracy vs Constitutional Republic

As Democrats call for abolishing the Electoral College, some Republicans are defending the idea, but in so doing, are betraying the spirit of the constitutional republic as it was originally envisioned by the Founders.

On Twitter, supply-side economics writer and historian Bruce Bartlett quoted President Andrew Jackson on his 1829 recommendation of abolishing the Electoral College, noting: “His reasoning was sound.”

In a reply, IPI president Tom Giovanetti tweeted the following:

“Actually no. The entire design of our Republic is to frustrate the democratic impulse. Jackson’s reasoning is populist, democratic, and out-of-character with the Founding.”

“Electoral College is defensible in its own right,” Giovanetti also said. “The president was never intended to be the leader of the country, or the most important person in the federal government. Making the president popularly elected adds to the problem of an imperial president and an emasculated legislature.”

Giovanetti also noted the broader implications of abolishing the Electoral College.

“There is little substantive difference between saying we should get rid of the Electoral College and saying we should get rid of the Senate,” he tweeted. “All the very same principles. Dems want direct democracy, conservatives should want a constitutional Republic.”