U.S. presidential elections turn on the mechanics of what is now called the “electoral college,” an institution that does not work at all as the Framers expected and which all too frequently threatens to undo the will of the voters. Peter and Dale talk with historian Alex Keyssar and leading election law scholar Ned Foley about electoral college mechanics, its evolution, how its creation and operation reflect our history of race and regionalism, the prospects for abolishing it, and the perhaps brighter prospects for reforms that will reduce the risk of election misfires.
