Ranking Member Cohen Participates in Forum on Electoral College

[WASHINGTON, DC] – Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09), Ranking Member of the House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution and Civil Justice, today participated in a forum hosted by members of the House Judiciary Committee with bipartisan experts and noted scholars to discuss proposed reforms to the current method of presidential selection, entitled “The Electoral College and the Future of American Democracy.” A video of Congressman Cohen’s remarks can be found here. A photo of the Congressman at the forum can be found here.

“As Ranking Member of the subcommittee with jurisdiction over constitutional amendments, I was pleased to hear from experts and scholars on potential reforms to the electoral college,” said Congressman Cohen. “Last week, I introduced a constitutional amendment to abolish the electoral college and provide for the direct election of the President and Vice President. The electoral college is an anachronistic provision. When the Founders established the electoral college it was in an era of limited nationwide communication. It was premised on a theory that citizens would have a better chance of knowing about electors from their home states than about presidential candidates from out-of-state. But this is no longer true, and the notion that citizens should be prevented from directly electing the President is antithetical to our understanding of democracy.”

Last week, Congressman Cohen introduced an amendment to the United States Constitution (H.J.Res. 104) that would eliminate the Electoral College and provide for the direct election of the President and Vice President of the United States. You can find more comments from Congressman Cohen on his amendment here. The text of the amendment can be found here.

Panelists at the forum included:

Professor Jamie Raskin, American University Law School (and U.S. Representative-Elect)

Professor Akhil Reed Amar, Yale Law School

Professor Jack N. Rakove, Stanford Law School

Professor Alexander Keyssar, Harvard University

State Representative Bob Thorpe (R-AZ), National Popular Vote Inc.

State Representative Chris Pearson (D-VT), National Popular Vote Inc.

Thomas Neale, Congressional Research Service