Power Politics: An Empirical Analysis of the Electoral College

Authors

Daniel W. Allen, Macalester CollegeFollow

Document Type

Honors Project

Comments

Advisor: Julie Dolan (Political Science) Other Readers: Paru Shah (Political Science), Karen Saxe (Mathematics)

Abstract

This paper analyzes voting inequality created by the Electoral College. It focuses on the concept of “voting power,” the ability of an individual to influence the outcome of an election, within the political context of the controversial 2000 and 2004 elections and resulting attempts to abolish the Electoral College. Unlike the bulk of scholarship which has used a priori measures of voting power, I develop empirical measures of voting power. These measures indicate that those individuals most advantaged by the Electoral College are those living in the large states tracking closely with the national popular vote.

Recommended Citation

Allen, Daniel W., "Power Politics: An Empirical Analysis of the Electoral College" (2007). Political Science Honors Projects. 6.
https://digitalcommons.macalester.edu/poli_honors/6