more people should know that in 1970 Congress came within a few votes of amending the Constitution to abolish the Electoral College
you can read @jessewegman’s excellent book on the Electoral College or Alexander Keyssar’s book (which I have yet to read) on the subject
the proximate reason for this was the 1968 election, in which George Wallace — he won 46 electoral votes and came within 40,000 votes or so of winning another 11 in Tennessee — nearly threw the election to the House of Representatives
this shocked the entire political establishment and fueled an almost-successful drive to get rid of the Electoral College
This is a really important observation that I want to elevate. The extent to which divergence was incredibly rare is why the Electoral College has persisted for so long.
I should really write another column on this subject.
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