Let Citizens Elect The President

E.J. Dionne wants electoral college reform, and now he's got a model to offer—a new Maryland law that requires the state's electors to support the winner of the nationwide popular vote. The law wouldn't take effect unless other states follow suit, creating "a compact among states genuinely committed to popular rule."

Together they could move beyond the current "antiquated, impractical and dangerous" system. Sure, he says, achieving electoral reform that way may be playing a little willy nilly with the Constitution. But he's willing to take the risk, especially in the light of the past two elections. "That's the only practical way of moving toward a more democratic system," Dionne writes. (More presidency stories.)