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Additional Resource
Resource Page — The Electoral College: What’s to be Done
The Electoral College is viewed as a democratic anachronism in modern-day America, yet it has persisted for over two centuries despite repeated attempts to reform or abolish the institution. To build off of an Ash Center symposium hosted in April 2024, our scholars and researchers continue to seek answers to some of the biggest questions surrounding why the Electoral College has remained impervious to change for so long and what are the prospects for reform. Below, we invite you to explore several resources geared toward resolving these enduring debates.
Opening academic panel
Jamie Raskin on the Future of the Electoral College
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Moving beyond the Electoral College
It’s an accident waiting to happen every four years. I mean, Jefferson himself called it an ink blot on the Constitution. And so, it’s always been recognized that it’s dangerous and dangerously unstable.![]()
Congressman Jamie Raskin
Speaking at the Ash Center Electoral College symposium
Book Talk
Book
Why Do We Still Have the Electoral College?
Podcast
Podcast
Democracy Paradox: Alexander Keyssar on Why We Still Have the Electoral College
More from this Program
Podcast
Terms of Engagement—What If Millennials and Gen Z Leaders Replaced the Gerontocracy?
Amanda Litman, the president and founder of Run for Something, joins co-hosts Archon Fung and Stephen Richer to talk about why she believes democracy needs a generational makeover.
Podcast
Terms of Engagement—How Does Our Civil Rights History Shape the Future of American Democracy?
Archon Fung and Stephen Richer invite Harvard Kennedy School Professor and civil rights advocate Cornell William Brooks to assess the evolution of America’s historical narrative and what implications history has on our contemporary political context.
Podcast
Terms of Engagement— Preparing for the Election Meltdown … Or Not
Co-hosts Archon Fung and Stephen Richer weigh conflicting predictions for the 2026 midterms and explore how to safeguard a free and fair election.
Podcast
Terms of Engagement—How Does Our Civil Rights History Shape the Future of American Democracy?
Archon Fung and Stephen Richer invite Harvard Kennedy School Professor and civil rights advocate Cornell William Brooks to assess the evolution of America’s historical narrative and what implications history has on our contemporary political context.
Commentary
Allen Lab Fellow Spotlight: Why a People-Centered Approach to American Democracy Matters Now
Allen Lab Policy Fellow Christine Slaughter makes the case that democracy must be understood through people’s lived experiences and agency, not just institutions.
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Supply Skeptics or Abundance Acolytes? Mayoral Views on the Housing Crisis
Economists and policy analysts broadly agree that more housing needs to be built in order to reduce costs in America’s most expensive cities. Using a novel survey of mayors of mid-sized and large cities to explore mayors’ views on the roots of America’s housing crisis and what solutions they believe will most effectively address their constituents’ housing challenges, the authors summarize mayors’ attitudes and perceptions on key issues related to expanding the housing supply, reporting how well these views correlate with mayors’ assessments of their own cities’ supply needs.