Jesse Wegman

(11/3/20) The framers of the Constitution battled over it. Lawmakers have tried to amend or abolish it more than 700 times. To this day, millions of voters and even members of Congress, misunderstand how it works. It deepens our national divide and distorts the core democratic principles of political equality and majority rule. In this Election Day edition of Leonard Lopate at Large on WBAI, Jesse Wegman of the New York Times editorial board and author of Let the People Pick the President: The Case for Abolishing the Electoral College makes the case for doing away with this core principle of American elections.

Jesse Wegman, New York Times editorial board member and author of Let the People Pick the President: The Case for Abolishing the Electoral College joins host Jessica Levinson. Jesse discusses the fascinating history behind the Electoral College, how it has affected presidential elections, and proposals to reform it.

In an online Bookshop Santa Cruz event, host Ryan Coonerty talks with Jesse Wegman about his new book "Let the People Pick the President: The Case for Abolishing the Electoral College", a thoroughly researched call for major electoral reform.

In 40% of presidential elections this century, the electoral college selected a candidate who lost the popular vote. This institution results in mostly white, rural voters having votes which count much, much more than voters of color in more populous locations. We've asked Jesse Wegman on this episode to discuss the electoral college and efforts to mitigate it. Jesse is a New York Times Editorial Board member and the author of Let the People Pick the President: The Case for Abolishing the Electoral College.--- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/alyssa-milano-sorry-not-sorry/message

The election will be disrupted by COVID-19. There’s a secure solution: voting by mail, which would protect public health and our democracy’s integrity. What are the pathways to making vote-by-mail widely available? Jesse Wegman, author of Let the People Pick the President, is joined by Amber McReynolds, coauthor of When Women Vote. Moderated by Ian Haney Lopez. Supported by the Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria, Stephen M. Silberstein Foundation, Guy & Jeanine Saperstein, & Mal Warwick Donordigital.

With two of the past three American presidents winning the electoral vote, but losing the popular vote, many question whether the institution stifles the will of the people and goes against the concept of democracy. Jesse Wegman joins Julian Zelizer and Sam Wang to speak about the electoral college, political gridlock, and how to fix the system. Wegman recently published his first book, “Let the People Pick the President.” On this week’s episode, he discusses his book, alternatives to the system, the National Popular Vote Compact, and more. Wegman is a member of The New York Times editorial board and writes on issues concerning the Supreme Court and legal affairs. He previously worked as a reporter, editor, and producer at outlets including National Public Radio, The New York Observer, Reuters, The Daily Beast, and Newsweek. 

Who thought the Electoral College was a good idea? In two of the last five presidential elections, the candidate who lost the popular vote still managed to win the White House. So why are we still electing the most powerful position this way and what are the alternatives? Jesse Wegman, author of the new book “Let the People Pick the President”, gives amazing insight into the slapdash construction of the Electoral College. Hear him make the case that the institution we ended up with is divisive and undemocratic and ought to be done away with once and for all.Let the People Pick the President: The Case for Abolishing the Electoral College by Jesse WegmanIntelligence Squared U.S.

On this week's episode, we bring you a recording of a live conversation between Equal Citizens' Jason Harrow and Jesse Wegman, a member of the New York Times editorial board. Jesse's new book is called Let The People Pick The President, and Jason and Jesse discussed the history of efforts to change to a popular vote for President, as well as the current push through the National Popular Vote Compact. Thanks to the Leadership Now Project for hosting this wonderful virtual discussion. You can learn more about Leadership Now at https://www.leadershipnowproject.org/. Please consider supporting this podcast on Patreon. https://www.patreon.com/EqualCitizens