2024 Civil Discourse Series: The Electoral College

The U.S. Electoral College has been highly debated time and time again; over the past 200 years, more than 700 proposals have been introduced in Congress to reform or eliminate the Electoral College. Is it an effective use of the system of checks and balances, or is it an outdated and inaccurate representation of voters in the United States? Join us for a discussion on the history and efficacy of the Electoral College as a key element of our nation’s voting process.
About the Speakers
Jesse Wegman writes about law and politics as a member of the New York Times editorial board. He is the author of Let the People Pick the President: The Case for Abolishing the Electoral College (St. Martin's Press, 2020). He is currently writing a biography of American founder James Wilson, the most influential drafter of the Constitution and strongest advocate of a popularly-elected president.
Michael Morley is a professor at Florida State University, where he researches election emergencies, the constitutional right to vote, and the Electoral Count Act. Professor Morley is a member of the Florida Advisory Committee for the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights. He has testified before congressional committees, made presentations to election officials for the U.S. Election Assistance Commission, and participated in bipartisan blue-ribbon groups to develop election reforms. Before joining FSU Law, Professor Morley was a Climenko Fellow and Lecturer on Law at Harvard Law School. He also served as Special Assistant to the General Counsel of the Army at the Pentagon, as well as a law clerk for Judge Gerald B. Tjoflat of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. Professor Morley holds a J.D. from Yale Law School.
Wilfred Codrington III is the Walter Floersheimer Professor of Constitutional Law at the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, where he co-directs the Floersheimer Center for Constitutional Democracy. A public law expert, Codrington’s research, teaching, and advocacy focus on voting, elections, and the law of democracy; constitutional law, including constitutional theory and reform; and civil rights and the role of race in the law. Professor Codrington is the co-author of The People’s Constitution: 200 Years, 27 Amendments, and the Promise of a More Perfect Union (New Press 2021), a narrative history of the amendments to the U.S. Constitution and clarion call for a renewed popular commitment to progressive constitutional reform. Codrington is a frequent commentator in the media, with essays and op-eds featured in outlets including the American Prospect, the Atlantic, the Hill, Politico, Slate, and U.S. News & World Report.
About the Moderator
Loren Jacobson is an Associate Professor of Law at the UNT Dallas College of Law where she teaches courses in health care law, constitutional law, and civil rights law, among others. After graduation, Jacobson clerked for the Honorable Alvin K. Hellerstein and the Honorable Wilfred Feinberg. In 2004, she joined the law firm of Waters & Kraus LLP in Dallas, where she practiced for 12 years. Jacobson has moderated or served on panels for a number of professional organizations and as a speaker at the American Constitution Society’s Dallas-Ft. Worth Lawyers’ Chapter events and the Texas Bar CLE Bill of Rights course. Her scholarly writing has focused on the First Amendment’s commercial speech protections, reproductive rights, and the non-delegation doctrine.
About the Civil Discourse Series
The Civil Discourse Series aims to address thought-provoking, and occasionally divisive, topics through respectful discussion.
Presented by The Meadows Foundation.
This program was presented in-person at the Museum on Tuesday, October 1, 2024.