Whitaker 1

Tim Whitaker
Professor Cumbus
ENGL 1301
20 November 2016
Annotated Bibliography
Critical Preface:
It may seem that this years election season has already divided us enough, but even the
results for this Election Tuesday have split us on yet another political issue: Is the Electoral
College an accurate way to elect a president in modern day America? Below are sources that
have been acquired throughout the week of November 13th, 2016, yet completely accessed on the
20th. Resources were acquired based on several questions I wanted to answer myself: What is the
Electoral College, what are the arguments for it, what are the arguments against it, is a direct
vote preferable, and how do other countries conduct their elections? Sources chosen answer at
least one of these questions, in order to provide a more thorough, holistic review of the question
presented. Out of the 25 listed, sources ranged from news pieces and journal articles, to Op-Eds
and YouTube videos. In the end, it appears that the Electoral College is not an accurate way to
elect a president in modern day America, as it gives power more to land mass than actual voters,
and therefore should be repealed or reformed.
Annotated Bibliography:
Aleem, Zeeshan. 7 Other Nations That Prove Just How Absurd U.S. Elections Really Are.
Mic, 19 May 2015, https://mic.com/articles/118598/7-facts-from-the-around-theworld-show-how-absurd-america-s-elections-really-are#.gbgzvpnsC. Accessed 20
Nov. 2016.
Writer Zeeshan Aleem puts into context our American election by comparing it to how
elections are held in other parts of the world.

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Barbaro, Michael and Matt Flegenheimer. Donald Trump is Elected President in Stunning
Repudiation of the Establishment. The New York Times, 20 Nov. 2016.
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/09/us/politics/hillary-clinton-donald-trumppresident.html. Accessed 20 Nov. 2016.
A thorough report on the election of business and television mogul Donald J. Trump.
Trump would go on to lose the popular vote despite winning the electoral vote.
Barrow, Bill. Q&A: How the Electoral College Works. The Seattle Times, 19 Nov. 2016,
http://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/qa-how-the-electoral-collegeworks/.Accessed 20 Nov. 2016.
In this news article posted on The Seattle Timess website, Bill Barrow of the Associated
Press answers basic questions regarding the electoral college.
Brawner, Steve. Every county is purple. Times Record, 20 Nov. 2016.
http://www.swtimes.com/opinion/20161120/brawner-every-county-is-purple.
Accessed 20 Nov. 2016.
Writer Steve Brawner argues that Electoral College should be redesigned to more
accurately reflect voters. He writes that every county is purple, the color that is the result
of a blue and red mixture.
Cohen, David. How the Electoral College Rigged the Election for Donald Trump. Rolling
Stone, 16 Nov. 2016, http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/features/how-the-electoralcollege-rigs-elections-for-republicans-w450749. Accessed 20 Nov. 2016.
David Cohen of the Rolling Stone, using the words of President-Elect Donald Trump,
talks about how the election is rigged, mostly in part due to the Electoral College.
Collin, Katy. The electoral college badly distorts the vote. And its going to get worse.
The Washington Post, 17 Nov. 2016, https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/monkeycage/wp/2016/11/17/the-electoral-college-badly-distorts-the-vote-and-its-going-toget-worse/. Accessed 20 Nov. 2016.
Katy Collin of the Washington Post discusses why the electoral vote will continue to
diverge from the popular vote and continue to create controversial election outcomes.
Golub, Eric. Hillary Clintons loss validates the Electoral College. Communities Digital
News, 17 Nov. 2016, http://www.commdiginews.com/politics-2/hillary-clintons-lossvalidates-the-electoral-college-74031/. Accessed 20 Nov. 2016.
An online article that discusses the pros of keeping the Electoral College. The article
suggests that by removing California votes, the disproportion among urban and rural
America would be more obvious.

Whitaker 3

Greenfield, Jeff. Oh, Waiter! One Order of Crow!. G. P. Putnams sons, 2001.
Journalist Jeff Greenfield hilariously documents news coverage on the night of the 2000
Presidential Election, when Republican Texas Governor George W. Bush defeated
Democratic Vice President Al Gore, despite losing the popular vote. Greenfield, a then
senior analyst at CNN, describes the confusion of many media pundits that were
witnessing an event that hadnt happen since 1888.
Harrington, Rebecca. Millions are petitioning the Electoral College to make Hillary
Clinton president heres why that probably wont happen. Business Insider:
Politics, 20 Nov. 2016, http://www.businessinsider.com/can-the-electoral-collegemake-hillary-clinton-president-instead-trump-how-2016-11. Accessed 20 Nov. 2016.
Rebecca Harrington of Business Insider argues as to why those who are asking the
Electoral College to vote Hillary Clinton are wasting their time.
How the Electoral College Works. YouTube, uploaded by CGP Grey, 7 Nov. 2011,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OUS9mM8Xbbw.
YouTuber CGP Grey provide a clear, simple to follow video on how the Electoral College
works. It targets a wide audience with its short length and relatively simple language. At
the end, however, it seems that Grey does not have a favorable opinion of the Electoral
College, citing that the Electoral College does not consider the 6.6 million US voters
living in the territories or abroad.
Marty, Robin. No, the Electoral College Will Not Overrule the Election Results. Care2,
15 Nov. 2016, http://www.care2.com/causes/no-the-electoral-college-will-notoverrule-the-election-results.html. Accessed 20 Nov. 2016.
Author Robin Marty discusses the why the Electoral College will not overrule the
election results, a common theme that has popped up since Election Tuesday.
Melander, Ingrid and Michael Rose. France's Fillon wins top spot in conservative
primary, Sarkozy out. Reuters, 20 Nov. 2016, http://www.reuters.com/article/usfrance-election-idUSKBN13F04E. Accessed 20 Nov. 2016.
The conservative party of France has elected former prime minister Franois Fillon as
their presidential nominee, as opposed to former president Nicholas Sarkozy. It is
important to note that France has a direct vote, as opposed to an Electoral College.
Miller, Mike. Liberal Law Professor Says Electoral College is Unconstitutional One
BIG Problem Independent Journal Review, 20 Nov. 2016,
http://ijr.com/wildfire/2016/11/740192-liberal-law-professor-says-electoral-college-isunconstitutional-one-big-problem/. Accessed 20 Nov. 2016.

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Political junkie Mike Miller dismisses an argument made by a Hofstra Law Professor on
whether or not the Electoral College is constitutional. Miller cites the fact that the
Electoral College is actually in the Constitution.
Lapidos, Juliet. Doing Democracy Right. Slate, 17 Oct. 2008,
http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/how_they_do_it/2008/10/doing_de
mocracy_right.html. Accessed 20 Nov. 2016.
Staff Editor of the New York Times Juliet Lapidos discusses the USs mishandling of its
elections, and how other countries do a much better job of it.
Lawrence, Tom. The Electoral College Must Go. Black Hills Pioneer, 20 Nov. 2016,
http://www.bhpioneer.com/blogs/blog_three/blog_three_text/the-electoral-collegemust-go/article_0b6ff562-ab4e-11e6-98a4-d7e70638ffe9.html. Accessed 20 Nov. 2016.
South Dakota native Tom Lawrence discusses the reasons that the Electoral College must
be removed, citing that both presidential nominees, who have, on separate times,
dismissed the Electoral College as unrepresentative of American voters
Ross, Tara. The Electoral College: Enlightened Democracy. The Heritage Foundation, 1
Nov. 2004, http://www.heritage.org/research/reports/2004/11/the-electoral-collegeenlightened-democracy. Accessed 20 Nov. 2016.
In this piece, legal scholar Tara Ross details the origins of the electoral vote and discusses
its impact on modern elections.
Senator Boxer Introduces Bill to Abolish the Electoral College. Sierra Sun Times, 20 Nov.
2016, http://goldrushcam.com/sierrasuntimes/index.php/news/local-news/8260senator-boxer-introduces-bill-to-abolish-the-electoral-college. Accessed 20 Nov.
2016.
A news article stating that Senator Barbara Boxer has introduced a bill that would do
away with the electoral college. She states, The Electoral College is an outdated,
undemocratic system that does not reflect our modern society, and it needs to change
immediately.
Sparkman, John. One Man, 3.312 Votes: A Mathematical Analysis of the Electoral
College. Villanova Law Review, vol. 13, 1968, pp. 304-333.
John Sparkman discusses the then-recent Supreme Court decisions to uphold the
Electoral College. He then goes on to calculate what that means and how it plays out in
reality.
Sherman, Amy. The electoral college vs. the popular vote: Could states do an end-run
around the current system? PolitiFact: Florida, 17 Nov. 2016,
http://www.politifact.com/florida/article/2016/nov/17/electoral-college-vs-popularvote-could-states-a/. Accessed 20 Nov. 2016.

Whitaker 5

Amy Sherman discusses how a national popular vote could come into effect. Currently,
the NPV has the support of 10 states and Washington, DC.
Should the Electoral College Be Abolished? The New York Times, 16 Nov. 2016,
http://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2016/11/16/should-the-electoral-college-beabolished. Accessed 20 Nov. 2016.
This piece from The New York Timess website features two authors: professor of law
and political science at Yale University Akhil Reed Amar and Harvard law professor
Charles Fried, previously a solicitor general from 1985 to 1989. The two discuss whether
or not the Electoral College should be abolished, reflecting the sediment felt by many this
election cycle. Fried swings first, arguing that the Electoral College affirms the Framers
decision to give states powers that exceeded simply being administrative units of the
national government or its local offices. On the other hand, Amar argues that the if the
states choose their governor (the President equivalent for states) using popular vote, then
arguments used to preserve the Electoral College should be dismissed, and directly voting
for the command and chief should be the norm.
Speel, Robert. These 3 Common Arguments for Preserving the Electoral College Are
Wrong. Times, 15 Nov. 2016, http://time.com/4571626/electoral-college-wrongarguments/. Accessed 20 Nov. 2016.
In this piece, Professor of Political Science Robert Speel dismisses the arguments that the
Electoral College filters the passion of the people, give more attention to smaller states,
and gives a mandate to govern.
Stewart, Chris and Jack Torry. Election result spurs Electoral College debate. JournalNews, 19 Nov. 2016, http://www.journal-news.com/news/national-govt-politics/election-result-spurs-electoral-college-debate/FteVkAIx727nAwew8iOldP/.
Accessed 20 Nov. 2016.
This piece includes viewpoints of voters, discussing the impact of the electoral college on
the election. This piece is more of a report than an opinion piece or editorial.
The Popular Vote vs. the Electoral College. YouTube, uploaded by PragerU, 18 May 2015,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LXnjGD7j2B0.
In this video, legal scholar Tara Ross defends the Electoral College in a video published
by Prager University, a conservative website. Ross cites that the Founding Fathers put
into place the Electoral College so to prevent a tyranny of the majority. Ross also
discussing the National Popular Vote, a movement that is pushing for a one person, one
vote policy. Ross argues against the NPV, and berates the method of which into be put
into place.
The Trouble with the Electoral College. YouTube, uploaded by CGP Grey, 7 Nov. 2011,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7wC42HgLA4k.

Whitaker 6
In his follow up video discussing the Electoral College, YouTuber CGP Grey argues
against the current presidential voting process. He first shows how big states lose
electoral votes to smaller states. For instance, Texas is short six. Grey then takes down
the argument that the Electoral College protects the interest of smaller states using
campaign data and Census statistics. Finally, Grey shows how a candidate could win the
presidency with only 21.91% of the vote.
Wang, Sam. Why I had to Eat a Bug on CNN. The New York Times, 18 Nov. 2016,
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/19/opinion/why-i-had-to-eat-a-bug-on-cnn.html?
_r=0. Accessed 20 Nov. 2016.
Princeton University professor and Princeton Electoral Consortium founder Sam Wang
discusses the errors that led pollsters to predict a Clinton win this November. This
election has been the fifth time in US History where a candidate has lost the elector vote
but has won the popular vote.