"One Difficulty of a Serious Nature": The Overlooked Racial Dynamics of the Electoral College


Journal article


William D. Blake
The Forum, vol. 17(2), 2019 Jul, pp. 315-43


View PDF
Cite

Cite

APA   Click to copy
Blake, W. D. (2019). "One Difficulty of a Serious Nature": The Overlooked Racial Dynamics of the Electoral College. The Forum, 17(2), 315–343. https://doi.org/10.1515/for-2019-0019


Chicago/Turabian   Click to copy
Blake, William D. “&Quot;One Difficulty of a Serious Nature&Quot;: The Overlooked Racial Dynamics of the Electoral College.” The Forum 17, no. 2 (July 2019): 315–43.


MLA   Click to copy
Blake, William D. “&Quot;One Difficulty of a Serious Nature&Quot;: The Overlooked Racial Dynamics of the Electoral College.” The Forum, vol. 17, no. 2, July 2019, pp. 315–43, doi:10.1515/for-2019-0019.


BibTeX   Click to copy

@article{blake2019a,
  title = {"One Difficulty of a Serious Nature": The Overlooked Racial Dynamics of the Electoral College},
  year = {2019},
  month = jul,
  issue = {2},
  journal = {The Forum},
  pages = {315-43},
  volume = {17},
  doi = {10.1515/for-2019-0019},
  author = {Blake, William D.},
  month_numeric = {7}
}

This 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 non-racial 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.

Share