How The Electoral College Saves Us From The Mob Rule Of Democracy
Do conservatives need to be ashamed of winning elections by means of the Electoral College that they would not win in a more directly democratic contest? No.
The only complaint of any significance to be leveled against the Constitution’s electoral system is that it sometimes thwarts majority rule. But simple majority rule is neither a principle of the American Founding nor is it a principle of moral right. Conservatives should be proud of using the legal rules, whatever they may be, to advance what is morally good.
‘The Federalist’ and Majority Rule
In “Federalist 68,” Alexander Hamilton explains the rationale behind the Electoral College. The Constitutional Convention balanced five important objectives in creating the system, he affirms. First, “It was desirable that the sense of the people should operate in the choice.” Majority rule was indeed an important goal, for the Founders, but it was not the only goal. It was one among many. Thus, the people have a say in the constitutional system, but their voice is not absolute.
Hamilton’s second reason for the Electoral College is that the actual choice should be made by those best qualified to choose a president of virtue and ability (remember that electors originally had much more discretion in whom they vote for). Third, the system was designed to prevent civil disorder by avoiding direct election of the president and spreading electors’ votes around the nation. Fourth, it prevents bribery of the electors by avoiding pre-existing bodies that could be corrupted over time. Finally, it promotes executive independence by not placing the president’s election in the hands of, for example, the state legislatures or the House of Representatives.
The purpose of this system was not to promote simple majority rule, but good government. Hamilton argues that the Electoral College “affords a moral certainty, that the office of President will never fall to the lot of any man who is not in an eminent degree endowed with the requisite qualifications.” Although he is unwilling to say that republican government is unimportant, he does maintain that the most important question is ultimately not majority rule. Instead, “the true test of a good government is its aptitude and tendency to produce a good administration.” He echoes this theme two papers later when he argues in No. 70 that majority rule is important, but that if the choice is between majority rule and good government, the latter must be chosen.
Do conservatives need to be ashamed of winning elections by means of the Electoral College that they would not win in a more directly democratic contest? No.
The only complaint of any significance to be leveled against the Constitution’s electoral system is that it sometimes thwarts majority rule. But simple majority rule is neither a principle of the American Founding nor is it a principle of moral right. Conservatives should be proud of using the legal rules, whatever they may be, to advance what is morally good.
‘The Federalist’ and Majority Rule
In “Federalist 68,” Alexander Hamilton explains the rationale behind the Electoral College. The Constitutional Convention balanced five important objectives in creating the system, he affirms. First, “It was desirable that the sense of the people should operate in the choice.” Majority rule was indeed an important goal, for the Founders, but it was not the only goal. It was one among many. Thus, the people have a say in the constitutional system, but their voice is not absolute.
Hamilton’s second reason for the Electoral College is that the actual choice should be made by those best qualified to choose a president of virtue and ability (remember that electors originally had much more discretion in whom they vote for). Third, the system was designed to prevent civil disorder by avoiding direct election of the president and spreading electors’ votes around the nation. Fourth, it prevents bribery of the electors by avoiding pre-existing bodies that could be corrupted over time. Finally, it promotes executive independence by not placing the president’s election in the hands of, for example, the state legislatures or the House of Representatives.
The purpose of this system was not to promote simple majority rule, but good government. Hamilton argues that the Electoral College “affords a moral certainty, that the office of President will never fall to the lot of any man who is not in an eminent degree endowed with the requisite qualifications.” Although he is unwilling to say that republican government is unimportant, he does maintain that the most important question is ultimately not majority rule. Instead, “the true test of a good government is its aptitude and tendency to produce a good administration.” He echoes this theme two papers later when he argues in No. 70 that majority rule is important, but that if the choice is between majority rule and good government, the latter must be chosen.
