The Lodge-Gossett Resolution: A Critical Analysis

Since 1797, when Representative Smith of South Carolina proposed a constitutional amendment to reform the electoral college, scarcely a Congress has adjourned without the introduction of one or more resolutions on this subject. A plan which is currently receiving attention was introduced in the Senate by Henry Cabot Lodge of Massachusetts and in the House by Ed Gossett of Texas. The Senate has already passed the so-called Lodge-Gossett proposal by a vote of 64 to 27—three more than the necessary two-thirds. There is actually some chance that the House of Representatives will approve the measure and send it to the states as it enjoys bi-partisan support and has received favorable committee action in the House.The plan provides for three major changes in the electoral system. First, it would abolish presidential electors but retain the electoral votes of each state as at present. The purpose of this change is to prevent electors from acting on their own judgment. In the past, this matter has seemed relatively unimportant. But the recent election indicated the dangers of an electoral system which allows a determined minority to seize a national party label and appropriate electoral votes as the Thurmond forces did in Alabama and Tennessee.