State defends system of choosing presidential electors

AUSTIN — Texas Deputy Solicitor General Matthew Frederick on Feb. 6 defended the Electoral College system in a case before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.

Frederick, arguing on behalf of Gov. Greg Abbott and Attorney General Ken Paxton, maintained that Texas’ method of appointing presidential electors is consistent with the U.S. Constitution’s requirement that “each state shall appoint, in such manner as the legislature thereof may direct, a number of electors, equal to the number of senators and representatives to which the state may be entitled in Congress.”

As most other states do, Texas appoints presidential electors on a winner-takes-all basis to the presidential candidate who receives the most votes in a statewide election.

The case, brought by the League of United Latin American Citizens and several individual plaintiffs, challenges the constitutionality of Texas’ system, asserting that the voting power of minorities is diluted under winner-takes-all in violation of the Voting Rights Act and the 1st and 14th Amendments.

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