Faithwire
  • Watch
  • Go!
  • Podcasts
  • Newsletter
  • Contact Us
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • Instagram
  • SCOTUS
  • Life
  • Religious Liberty
  • News
  • Politics
  • Faith
  • Opinion

Harvard Law Professor Is Trying to Take down Trump with This Last-Minute Electoral College Plan

"It's not fair..."
Share Tweet
By Billy Hallowell
Editor

December 7, 2016

Harvard University law professor Lawrence Lessig penned a blog post this week offering up challenges to the current Electoral College paradigm, mainly the “winner takes all” system embraced by the vast majority of states.

Lessig said the Constitution “creates an inequality” due to the way in which electoral college votes are allocated — and then broke down what he perceives as the real problem: The “winner take all” rule that’s currently at play in all but two states.

“But the real inequality of the electoral college is created by the ‘winner take all’ (WTA) rule for allocating electoral votes,” he wrote. “WTA says that the person who wins the popular votes gets all the electoral college votes for that state. Every state (except Maine and Nebraska) allocates its electors based on WTA.”

While the system is ingrained in the Constitution, he said the winner takes all system isn’t mandated by the Constitution and was, instead, created by states. Lessig then wondered why the system isn’t being challenged by Democrats.

Lessig continued:

The election was waged assuming WTA; it’s not fair now, the argument goes, to change the rule for how electors will be counted.

No doubt, it is unfair to the campaigns of Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump. They spent money in reliance on the existing system. But that’s not the only “unfairness” at stake here: What about the unfairness being felt by the millions of voters whose votes were effectively diluted, or essentially disenfranchised? Why doesn’t their harm also weigh in the balance?

It’s perfectly clear that the Attorney General of New York or California could walk into the Supreme Court tomorrow, and ask the Court to hear the case.

Lessig explained why he believes an important question should be asked: “Why are these big states standing by quietly as their voters are essentially silenced by the unconstitutional inequality?” He broke that quest down in an in-depth blog post, quoting extensively from fellow attorney Jerry Sims’ arguments.

The essential argument is that the current system essentially denies “the minority of voters” in each state. In the case of both the 2016 — and the infamous 2000 election — this meant that the majority of voters didn’t see their will come to fruition. Read Lessig’s full arguments here.

The attorney also launched a new effort titled, “The Electors Trust,” which will offer free legal support to any Electoral College elector who wants to reject supporting Trump in violation of state law, as Politico reported.

“Our primary objective is to provide a safe and confidential legal context in which electors can seek advice and support, and depending on the facts, an opportunity to litigate to defend their freedom,” Lessig explained in a description.

Listen to attorney Tara Ross discuss the electoral college at the 2:30-mark below:

In addition to offering legal help, the goal of the trust will be to help electors come up with ideas about how they can stop Trump’s ascension to the White House — a collective effort aimed at securing the best possible option to stop the president-elect in his tracks. Read more about the initiative here.

As Faithwire previously reported, Ross has spoken openly about why she believes the Electoral College is actually a viable means for selecting a president.

“The sound bites against the Electoral College are easy, and they sound irrefutable. But more education reveals that the system is indispensable to our republic,” Ross said. “The Electoral College’s unique blend of democracy and federalism (state-by-state voting) encourages presidential candidates to build national coalitions of voters.”

—

Other Must-Read Stories:

– Franklin Graham’s ‘Darkest Hour’: How God Showed Up After Learning a Staff Member Contracted Ebola

– Americans Overwhelmingly Support Doctor-Assisted Suicide. But Evangelicals Take a Very Different Stand.

– This Big ‘Game-Changer’ Among Christian Voters Elevated Trump — and It Had Nothing to Do With Evangelicals

– Pastor’s ‘Peanuts’-Inspired NYC Sidewalk Ministry Offering ‘Spiritual Help’ Is a Big Hit

– When This Famous Comedian Saw a Mom Struggling at the Grocery Store Checkout, He Stepped Up in a Big Way

Latest

  • News

    Amid ‘Hidden Dangers That Lurk’ in Culture, Christian Video Games Could Offer Parents a Powerful Solution

  • News

    All-American Swimmer Blasts ESPN for Promoting Transgender Athlete in ‘Celebrating Women’s History Month’

  • News

    ‘Dear Jesus, Please Help Them’: Meteorologist Credited With Saving Lives After Viral, On-Air Prayer to God as Deadly Tornado Hit

  • News

    ‘Thank You, God, For Saving Me’: Blac Chyna Removes ‘Demonic’ Image From Her Body After Announcing Baptism

  • Entertainment

    Blac Chyna Quits OnlyFans, Changes Lifestyle After Becoming Christian: ‘Let Me Let God Lead Me’


Sponsored
Sponsored

Newsletter
Signup

Sidebar

Recent Posts

  • Amid ‘Hidden Dangers That Lurk’ in Culture, Christian Video Games Could Offer Parents a Powerful Solution
  • All-American Swimmer Blasts ESPN for Promoting Transgender Athlete in ‘Celebrating Women’s History Month’
  • ‘Dear Jesus, Please Help Them’: Meteorologist Credited With Saving Lives After Viral, On-Air Prayer to God as Deadly Tornado Hit
  • ‘Thank You, God, For Saving Me’: Blac Chyna Removes ‘Demonic’ Image From Her Body After Announcing Baptism
  • Blac Chyna Quits OnlyFans, Changes Lifestyle After Becoming Christian: ‘Let Me Let God Lead Me’

Archives

  • March 2023
  • February 2023
  • January 2023
  • December 2022
  • November 2022
  • October 2022
  • September 2022
  • August 2022
  • July 2022
  • June 2022
  • May 2022
  • April 2022
  • March 2022
  • February 2022
  • January 2022
  • December 2021
  • November 2021
  • October 2021
  • September 2021
  • August 2021
  • July 2021
  • June 2021
  • May 2021
  • April 2021
  • March 2021
  • February 2021
  • January 2021
  • December 2020
  • November 2020
  • October 2020
  • September 2020
  • August 2020
  • July 2020
  • June 2020
  • May 2020
  • April 2020
  • March 2020
  • February 2020
  • January 2020
  • December 2019
  • November 2019
  • October 2019
  • September 2019
  • August 2019
  • July 2019
  • June 2019
  • May 2019
  • April 2019
  • March 2019
  • February 2019
  • January 2019
  • December 2018
  • November 2018
  • October 2018
  • September 2018
  • August 2018
  • July 2018
  • June 2018
  • May 2018
  • April 2018
  • March 2018
  • February 2018
  • January 2018
  • December 2017
  • November 2017
  • October 2017
  • September 2017
  • August 2017
  • July 2017
  • June 2017
  • May 2017
  • April 2017
  • March 2017
  • February 2017
  • January 2017
  • December 2016
  • November 2016
  • October 2016
  • September 2016
  • July 2016
  • June 2016
  • May 2016

Categories

  • Christian Persecution
  • Coronavirus
  • culture
  • Culture
  • Entertainment
  • Faith
  • Faith
  • Family
  • George Floyd
  • Go!
  • Israel
  • Life
  • Life
  • Lifestyle
  • Media
  • Men
  • Mission Haiti
  • News
  • News
  • Opinion
  • P.O.V
  • Politics
  • Politics
  • Roe
  • Sponsored
  • Sports
  • Virtue
  • Women

Meta

  • Log in
  • Entries feed
  • Comments feed
  • WordPress.org

Navigation

  • Watch
  • Go!
  • Podcasts
  • Newsletter
  • Contact Us
  • Staff
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Service

Follow Us

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • Instagram

Subscribe to the Newsletter

Sign up to get our newsletter your inbox every day.

Newsletter Signup

Do you want to read
more articles like this?