The remarkably close tally in the presidential election this year and the confusion and controversy over how to determine the winner have reminded voters of the importance of the electoral college. An AEI study, After the People Vote: A Guide to the Electoral College (1992, revised and enlarged edition), explains all of the basics of the electoral college. Roll Call, the leading newspaper covering Capitol Hill, has dubbed After the People Vote the "best single source for information on the intricacies of choosing an American President."

Edited by AEI resident scholar Walter Berns, the book answers questions such as how the electors are appointed, how their votes are counted, what happens if an elector casts a vote in violation of his pledge, and what happens if no one receives a majority of the votes. To answer those questions, the authors cite the Constitution, statutory law, party and parliamentary rules, and examples from past elections.

The book also includes two essays on how the electoral college has evolved. In one, AEI resident scholar Norman J. Ornstein discusses three disputed elections of the nineteenth century, and in the other, the late Martin Diamond addresses criticisms of the electoral college system.

Berns concludes that we have rules that govern almost every conceivable contingency and that "so long as the rules are followed, this country will not suffer a crisis of succession."

Columnist George F. Will says, "We have long needed an explanation of the college--its origins and evolution--as subtle and intelligent as the college itself. That need has now been met by this book, which combines equal mastery of constitutional law and political philosophy."