<p><span class="deck">When the two parties gather to select their candidates, the proceedings will be empty glitz, with none of the import of old-time conventions. Or will they?</span></p>
<p><span class="deck">When John Adams was elected president, and Thomas Jefferson as vice president, each came to see the other as a traitor. Out of their enmity grew our modern political system.</span></p>
<p><span class="deck">OVER THE PAST HALF-CENTURY, POLLING HAS REMADE THE ELECTORAL PROCESS. IS IT HELPING DO THE WORK OF DEMOCRACY MORE EFFECTIVELY OR ERODING IT?</span></p>
<p><span class="deck">It was never designed to actually elect a president, it’s awkward, cumbersome, and confusing, and almost no one likes it. Americans have been trying to get rid of it for more than two centuries. Yet it’s still here. Now, we are seeing renewed efforts to reform or eliminate the Electoral College. Will they succeed? Don’t bet on it. </span></p>
