The Federalism Factor
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the electors do not even appear on the ballot in presidential elections. It
remains true that an elector could cast his vote as a member of the Electoral College for a presidential candidate other than the one to whom he
had nominally pledged himself; however, that rarely happens. Most
American voters today are probably unaware that the Electoral College
still exists.
From time to time, some members of Congress have argued that the
Electoral College is outdated and should be abolished. Proposed amendments to the Constitution calling for the direct election of the President
have repeatedly been rejected, however, and the Electoral College still
enjoys wide support. Defenders of the Electoral College contend, in
particular, that the present system strengthens federalism by making
the States the crucial political units in the selection of the President. The
direct-election proposals would change this by scuttling the nomination conventions that give State and local party leaders great influence
in the nomination process, and by making State lines irrelevant in the
general election. This in turn would encourage presidential candidates to
ignore a broad cross-section of the country and the interests of States
with small populations, and to direct their appeal to large industrial areas of the country—an invitation, the Electoral College defenders argue,
to majority tyranny and a plebiscitary presidency unrestrained by the
two-party system. Such arguments have been sufficiently persuasive to
defeat the advocates of change, and the present consensus seems to be
that the present system, though imperfect, is preferable to the proposed
alternatives.
Perhaps the most important point to be remembered, as the foregoing
discussion of federalism illustrates, is that there is more to the Constitution than meets the eye. A reading of the text and wording of the document is merely the first step toward a thorough understanding of its
meaning and purpose. This is especially true when we stop to consider
the influence of the unwritten and often obscure federalism ingredient of
the Constitution. But, as we shall presently see, it is also true of other ‘‘silences of the Constitution,’’ such as separation of powers and rule of law.
It is impossible to understand the Constitution without first understanding the principles upon which it is built.