THE ILLEGITIMATE PRESIDENT - MINORITY VOTE DILUTION AND THE ELECTORAL-COLLEGE

Under the Constitution, the President is chosen by electors appointed by the states. Forty-eight of the fifty states appoint these electors through a ''winner take all'' method of election. Because voting in pr esidential elections is highly polarized along racial lines, this syst em prevents minority voters in many states from choosing any of a stat e's presidential electors-even where an alternative electoral system w ould clearly allow them to pick one or more electors. In this Article, Mr Hoffman argues that the winner-take-all rule is not simply undemoc ratic, but potentially illegal under 2 of the Voting Rights Act of 196 5. As amended in 1982, 2 was expressly designed to outlaw similar at-l arge electoral systems that limit the ability of minority voters to el ect candidates of their choice. Furthermore, as this Article demonstra tes, the dominance of the winner-take-all rule has contributed signifi cantly to the current racial polarization of the American electorate. Through an analysis of exit poll and census data, Mi: Hoffman seeks to identify which stares might be vulnerable to a 2 challenge. He then c onsiders various remedial alternatives that states might employ to add ress the problem of vote dilution, and the effects that widespread ado ption of these systems might have on the American political system. Fi nally, he concludes that such changes are necessary in order to guaran tee to all Americans a voice in the selection of the President.