Samuel Issacharoff (professor, New York University School of Law)
Victoria Bassetti (fellow, Brennan Center for Justice)
Guy-Uriel Charles (professor, Duke University School of Law)
Rebecca Green (professor of practice, William & Mary Law School)
Danielle Lang (voting rights & redistricting co-director, Campaign Legal Center)
Concluding Remarks: Jesse Wegman (Editorial Board Member, New York Times)
Harvard Law School is the law school of Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest continuously operating law school in the United States and among the most prestigious in the country.
The United States Electoral College is the group of presidential electors required by the Constitution to form every four years for the sole purpose of electing the president and vice president. Each state appoints electors equal in number to its congressional delegation. Federal office holders cannot be electors.
Of the current 538 electors, an absolute majority of 270 or more electoral votes is required to elect the president and vice president. If no candidate achieves an absolute majority there, a contingent election is held by the United States House of Representatives to elect the president, and by the United States Senate to elect the vice president.
The appropriateness of the Electoral College system is a matter of ongoing debate. Supporters argue that it is a fundamental component of American federalism by preserving the Constitutional role of the states in presidential elections. Candidates must appeal to a broad and diverse set of states rather than focusing only on the few U.S. cities with the highest population densities.
Critics argue that the Electoral College system is less democratic than a direct popular vote and that the College violates the democratic principle of “one person, one vote.” Thus, a president may be elected who did not win the national popular vote, as occurred in 1824, 1876, 1888, 2000, and 2016.
New York is a state in the northeastern U.S., known for New York City and towering Niagara Falls. NYC’s island of Manhattan is home to the Empire State Building, Times Square and Central Park. The Brooklyn Bridge connects Manhattan with the borough of Brooklyn. The iconic Statue of Liberty stands in New York Harbor. To the east, Long Island has beaches, the Montauk Lighthouse, the ritzy Hamptons and Fire Island.
The New York Times is an American newspaper based in New York City with worldwide influence and readership. Founded in 1851 and nicknamed “the Gray Lady”, the Times has long been regarded within the industry as a national “newspaper of record”.
