Who are the Electors - What do they do? - Can they help change the system for the better?

What is the Electors' responsibility?

The Electors are responsible for choosing the president of the United States. Traditionally, they have voted their party's nominee, but there is reason to believe that to do so now will unnecessarily divide the nation. There is an alternative. Electors could look for a widely trusted and respected person who is not partial to any party but who is clearly committed to the interests - to the long-range health - of this nation, and well-being of her people.

In a very close election, just a few Electors would be all that is necessary to ensure that a third name is put up for consideration, and with no majority of Electoral votes going to any one person, the House of Representatives would decide, from the top three.

The Process - as I understand it

The Electors have traditionally been hand-picked by the two 'major' political parties, with the party receiving a plurality of votes cast in each State enjoying the privilege of naming the entire slate of Electors for that State. The Electors, ostensibly chosen by the Legislators, (according to the Constitution), but picked by the parties, then vote for their party's nominee. (This is where I am a bit confused. Who is actually choosing the Electors? Is it the Legislature or the Parties?)

If the level of citizen participation in the election falls to one-half or less, and if those who do vote are voting as much or more against someone as for someone, and if most people feel that the choices presented leave much to be desired--if, when asked who they would like to have as president if they could choose anyone, people say, "someone who is not running"--, the question arises: Is the election a mandate in any sense of the word? Or is it time for the Electors to set aside tradition and vote their conscience? If not now, when? How low can public confidence in the slate of candidates go before the Electors would see a responsibility to look beyond this slate? Should the Constitution be changed to eliminate the role of the Electors? A computer program could much more efficiently perform the function that Electors perform today. But a computer program may not recognize when the data inputted lacks validity.

The tradition of voting for the nominee of the party that receives the largest number of votes in a particular State may be a convenient way for established interests to maintain their grip on power, but it has done little recently to cultivate the sense among the people that they are getting something other than corporate sponsored, advertiser supported candidates.

(This is an old article. Now the traditional way that the Electoral College functions would enable the 'populist' disaster involving pandering to base instincts that the College was intended to prevent... even though the person who seems to have the Electoral College vote did not receive most of the popular vote. Now that's strong irony.)

Walter Cronkite for President < -- too late

Systemic flaws are not reported

Biological Model for Politics and Economics