Feature
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
Feature
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
Related Resources
Podcast
Terms of Engagement – How did the Democrats Lose Silicon Valley? Should They Try to Get it Back?
The relationship between Silicon Valley and the Democratic Party has undergone a dramatic shift over the past decade, with many tech leaders moving away from their once-strong political alignment. This special episode of Terms of Engagement explores what drove that change and what it means for the future of democracy, political power, and the influence of technology elites.
Podcast
Terms of Engagement – Sedition, Partisanship, and the Future of American Justice
Former Assistant U.S. Attorney Troy Edwards, who was a leading prosecutor in the case of the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, joins Terms of Engagement to discuss the Trump Administration’s move to vacate the seditious conspiracy convictions of the Oath Keepers and Proud Boys and what it means for the future of the Department of Justice and the rule of law.
Podcast
Terms of Engagement – American Birthright: The Constitution, Citizenship, and Immigration
Penn University Professor Emeritus Rogers Smith joins Terms of Engagement hosts Archon Fung and Stephen Richer to discusses birthright citizenship, an American institution enshrined in the Constitution but increasingly under scrutiny from President Trump and his allies.
Additional Resource
VIDEOS: After Neoliberalism From Left to Right
After Neoliberalism: From Left to Right brought together hundreds of leading economists, political scientists, journalists, writers and thinkers from across the political spectrum to explore and debate emerging visions for the future of the political economy.
Panel videos below.
Commentary
The Present — and Future — of Alternatives to Police
Allen Lab Affiliate Benjamin A. Barsky examines alternative emergency response programs — arguing for a democratic model of public safety governance in which responses to nonviolent incidents are shared across government and civil society rather than dominated by police.
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.