Conservatives Mobilize in Defense of the Electoral College

Earlier this month, ALEC CEO Lisa B. Nelson added her signature to a Conservative Action Project letter, calling on conservatives to defend the Electoral College and oppose the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact (NPV). NPV would compel states within the Compact to assign their electoral votes to the winner of the nationwide popular vote. Conservatives view the Electoral College as vital to federalism and as a check on majority and federal power requiring national campaigns to build broad coalitions that consider the interests of a genuine cross-section of Americans. The Electoral College forces presidential campaigns to reach out to a wide array of Americans in order to secure a national victory. Without it, presidential candidates could prevail by targeting high population centers rather than balancing the priorities of rural and urban voters.

Since 2016, attacks on the Electoral College have intensified. However, the constitutional Framers considered and ultimately rejected direct voting, recognizing that the Electoral College system would reaffirm states as the essential units in our compound republic. ALEC has long been in agreement with America’s Founding Fathers on the importance of the Electoral College and adopted a Statement of Principles for Presidential Elections last year to emphasize this institution’s importance to federalism.

ALEC CEO Lisa B. Nelson is proud to add ALEC to the list of notable signatories that include former Attorney General Edwin Meese, American Conservative Union Chairman Matt Schlapp, Susan B. Anthony List President Marjorie Dannenfelser and Conservative Partnership Institute Chairman and former US Senator and President of The Heritage Foundation Jim DeMint. The Electoral College is crucial to upholding the power of the states as envisioned by our Founding Fathers and to ensuring that presidential candidates balance the priorities of all Americans.