Synopsis
Now in its fourth edition, After the People Vote remains an indispensable concise guide to help students and all citizens understand this critical and controversial American political institution. The mechanisms that lead to the final selection of a president are complex. Some procedures are sketched out in the original Constitution and its amendments, and others in federal law, congressional rules and procedures, state laws, and political party rules. This new, expanded edition of After the People Vote—featuring new sections on public opinion on the Electoral College and proposals for amending the Electoral College system—explains how our system of electing a president works, especially the processes that kick in after the November general election date.
About the Authors
Norman J. Ornstein is a senior fellow emeritus at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), where he has been studying politics, elections, and the US Congress for more than four decades. Along with Thomas Mann and Michael Malbin, he created “Vital Statistics on Congress” in 1980, a go-to-reference guide that provides impartial data for congressional watchers, and is updated every two years. He is also a longtime participant of AEI’s Election Watch series and an adviser to the Continuity of Government Commission. Dr. Ornstein previously served as codirector of the AEI-Brookings Election Reform Project. He has been involved in political reform for decades, particularly campaign finance, election reform, and House and Senate reform. He has also played a part in creating the Congressional Office of Compliance and the House Office of Congressional Ethics. He was elected fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2004. He often appears on C-SPAN, CBS, CNN, Fox News Channel, MSNBC, NPR, and “PBS NewsHour,” among other outlets. He served as an election analyst for CBS News for thirty years, and also was an on-air election analyst for BBC News. Through his family foundation named in honor of his late son Matthew, he helped spearhead the documentary “The Definition of Insanity,” about criminal justice and mental illness, which premiered at the Miami Film Festival in March 2020 and aired nationally on PBS on April 14, 2020. Dr. Ornstein’s articles and opinion pieces have been published widely, including in Foreign Affairs, the Los Angeles Times, New York Daily News, Politico, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, and USA Today. He is also a contributing editor and columnist for The Atlantic. Dr. Ornstein’s books include the New York Times and Washington Post bestsellers “One Nation After Trump: A Guide for the Perplexed, the Disillusioned, the Desperate, and the Not-Yet Deported” (St. Martin’s Press, 2017) with E. J. Dionne and Thomas E. Mann and “It’s Even Worse Than It Looks: How the American Constitutional System Collided with the New Politics of Extremism” (Basic Books, 2012) with Thomas E. Mann. His other books include, “The Broken Branch: How Congress Is Failing America and How to Get It Back on Track” (Oxford University Press, 2006) with Thomas E. Mann; and “The Permanent Campaign and Its Future” (AEI Press, 2000) edited with Thomas E. Mann. Dr. Ornstein has a PhD and a master’s in political science from the University of Michigan and a BA from the University of Minnesota.
John C. Fortier is a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, where he focuses on Congress and elections, election administration, election demographics, voting (and absentee voting), the US presidency, and the Electoral College. He is also continuing his work on the continuity of government. Before rejoining AEI, Dr. Fortier was director of governmental studies at the Bipartisan Policy Center, and the principal contributor to the AEI-Brookings Election Reform Project. He also has taught at Kenyon College, the University of Pennsylvania, the University of Delaware, Boston College, and Harvard University. He is the author and editor of “After the People Vote: A Guide to the Electoral College” (AEI Press, 2004; fourth edition, 2020); “Second-Term Blues: How George W. Bush Has Governed” (Brookings Institution Press, 2007); and “Absentee and Early Voting: Trends, Promises, and Perils” (AEI Press, 2006). A prolific writer, Dr. Fortier has been published in scholarly journals and the popular press, including Politico and The Hill. He is a frequent guest on radio and television, and he has appeared on ABC News, Bloomberg, BBC News, C-SPAN, CBS News, CNN, Fox News, NBC News’ “Today,” National Public Radio, and “PBS NewsHour,” among others. Dr. Fortier has a PhD in political science from Boston College and a BA in government from Georgetown University.
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