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How to Steal a Presidential Election
From two distinguished experts on election law, an alarming look at how the American presidency could be stolen—by entirely legal means
Even in the fast and loose world of the Trump White House, the idea that a couple thousand disorganized protestors storming the U.S. Capitol might actually prevent a presidential succession was farfetched. There are, however, perfectly legal ways of overturning election results that would allow a political party to install its own candidate in place of the true winner.
Lawrence Lessig and Matthew Seligman work through every option available for subverting a presumptively legitimate result—from vice-presidential intervention to election decertification and beyond. While many strategies would never pass constitutional muster, Lessig and Seligman explain the ways that some of them might. They expose correctable weaknesses in the system, including one that could be corrected only by the Supreme Court.
Any strategy aimed at hacking a presidential election is a threat to democracy. This book is a clarion call to shore up the insecure system for electing the president before American democracy is forever compromised.
Even in the fast and loose world of the Trump White House, the idea that a couple thousand disorganized protestors storming the U.S. Capitol might actually prevent a presidential succession was farfetched. There are, however, perfectly legal ways of overturning election results that would allow a political party to install its own candidate in place of the true winner.
Lawrence Lessig and Matthew Seligman work through every option available for subverting a presumptively legitimate result—from vice-presidential intervention to election decertification and beyond. While many strategies would never pass constitutional muster, Lessig and Seligman explain the ways that some of them might. They expose correctable weaknesses in the system, including one that could be corrected only by the Supreme Court.
Any strategy aimed at hacking a presidential election is a threat to democracy. This book is a clarion call to shore up the insecure system for electing the president before American democracy is forever compromised.
176 pages, Hardcover
Published February 13, 2024
26 people are currently reading
197 people want to read
About the author
Lawrence Lessig
63 books482 followersLawrence "Larry" Lessig is an American academic and political activist. He is best known as a proponent of reduced legal restrictions on copyright, trademark, and radio frequency spectrum, particularly in technology applications.
He is a director of the Edmond J. Safra Foundation Center for Ethics at Harvard University and a professor of law at Harvard Law School. Prior to rejoining Harvard, he was a professor of law at Stanford Law School and founder of its Center for Internet and Society.
Lessig is a founding board member of Creative Commons, a board member of the Software Freedom Law Center and a former board member of the Electronic Frontier Foundation.
He is a director of the Edmond J. Safra Foundation Center for Ethics at Harvard University and a professor of law at Harvard Law School. Prior to rejoining Harvard, he was a professor of law at Stanford Law School and founder of its Center for Internet and Society.
Lessig is a founding board member of Creative Commons, a board member of the Software Freedom Law Center and a former board member of the Electronic Frontier Foundation.
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Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews
September 18, 2024
I have once again decided to embark on a mission to read a number of books on subjects that will be of great importance to the upcoming 2024 US Presidential Election. This was a great success as I prepared for 2020, with an outcome at the polls (and antics by both candidates up to Inauguration Day) that only a fiction writer might have come up with at the time! Many of these will focus on actors and events intricately involved in the US political system over the last few years, in hopes that I can understand them better and, perhaps, educate others with the power to cast a ballot. I am, as always, open to serious recommendations from anyone who has a book I might like to include in the process.
With the events of July 21, 2024, when Joe Biden chose not to seek re-election, the challenge has become harder to properly reflect the Democratic side. I will do the best I can to properly prepare and offer up books that can explore the Biden Administration, as well as whomever takes the helm into November.
This is Book #30 in my 2024 US Election Preparation Challenge.
While America was saved from a stolen election in 2020, it could easily happen. Lawrence Lessig and Matthew Seligman explore this topic in detail. They point out the various means by which political figures could and might try to hijack the next presidential election to turn the results in the favour of a particular party. Numerous scenarios and their fallout come up in this well-researched and argued piece.
That there are legal means by which a presidential election could be stolen is troubling, though Lessig and Seligman are straightforward about it. Some of it plays into the interpretation of the US Constitution’s wording, while other aspects discuss the actors involved playing roles in a partisan manner to ensure a certain result. The discussions reveal much about the vagueness of the Constitution and how it was penned presuming men (and women) would play fairly. However, the Founding Father never met Trump or his congressional cronies!
An exploration using some of the rhetoric devised during the January 6th arguments inside the House of Representatives, as well as the sentiments expressed in its lead-up, help to shape the book’s underlying hypotheses and leave the reader shocked at the legal maneuvers that could be done. What’s more sobering is that the courts would have no recourse.
All that being said, much of the discussion is done in a vacuum under ideal circumstances. One need not entirely worry about the 2024 election, at least not with a great deal of confidence. However, as the authors explore in detail, all it takes is a few things to align and chaos of a legal nature could ensue. It is hard to believe that someone or a small group could be that on point to ensure the pieces fall into place, but more surprising things have happened in the past. However far-fetched it seems, one could have said the same about storming the Capitol and trying to create an insurrection to ensure autocratic rule, until it almost happened. Lessig and Seligman deliver a stunning account and offer real-world examples that left me slack-jawed and in awe.
I have read many books on elections, constitutions, and American democracy in my adult life, many of which left me better educated than when I started. Lawrence Lessig and Matthew Seligman did that here, while handling some poignant discussions about the future of the American election as well. In a well-crafted tome that seeks the educate and shock the reader, each chapter explores and explains key aspects to the election process and how it could be tinkered with to turn the results in a certain manner. The authors deliver an easy to digest, yet still shocking, set of tenets that are sure to shock the attentive reader. While many might have thought it was all about casting a ballot and waiting to see if your candidate won. Lessing and Seligman show how naive that is and how there are people working to pull strings and try to build a pathway so they can determine a winner and keep their hands clean.
Kudos, Messrs. Lessig and Seligman, for this eye-opening piece that I will be reading again soon to see how 2024 followed the rules.
Love/hate the review? An ever-growing collection of others appears at:
http://pecheyponderings.wordpress.com/
With the events of July 21, 2024, when Joe Biden chose not to seek re-election, the challenge has become harder to properly reflect the Democratic side. I will do the best I can to properly prepare and offer up books that can explore the Biden Administration, as well as whomever takes the helm into November.
This is Book #30 in my 2024 US Election Preparation Challenge.
While America was saved from a stolen election in 2020, it could easily happen. Lawrence Lessig and Matthew Seligman explore this topic in detail. They point out the various means by which political figures could and might try to hijack the next presidential election to turn the results in the favour of a particular party. Numerous scenarios and their fallout come up in this well-researched and argued piece.
That there are legal means by which a presidential election could be stolen is troubling, though Lessig and Seligman are straightforward about it. Some of it plays into the interpretation of the US Constitution’s wording, while other aspects discuss the actors involved playing roles in a partisan manner to ensure a certain result. The discussions reveal much about the vagueness of the Constitution and how it was penned presuming men (and women) would play fairly. However, the Founding Father never met Trump or his congressional cronies!
An exploration using some of the rhetoric devised during the January 6th arguments inside the House of Representatives, as well as the sentiments expressed in its lead-up, help to shape the book’s underlying hypotheses and leave the reader shocked at the legal maneuvers that could be done. What’s more sobering is that the courts would have no recourse.
All that being said, much of the discussion is done in a vacuum under ideal circumstances. One need not entirely worry about the 2024 election, at least not with a great deal of confidence. However, as the authors explore in detail, all it takes is a few things to align and chaos of a legal nature could ensue. It is hard to believe that someone or a small group could be that on point to ensure the pieces fall into place, but more surprising things have happened in the past. However far-fetched it seems, one could have said the same about storming the Capitol and trying to create an insurrection to ensure autocratic rule, until it almost happened. Lessig and Seligman deliver a stunning account and offer real-world examples that left me slack-jawed and in awe.
I have read many books on elections, constitutions, and American democracy in my adult life, many of which left me better educated than when I started. Lawrence Lessig and Matthew Seligman did that here, while handling some poignant discussions about the future of the American election as well. In a well-crafted tome that seeks the educate and shock the reader, each chapter explores and explains key aspects to the election process and how it could be tinkered with to turn the results in a certain manner. The authors deliver an easy to digest, yet still shocking, set of tenets that are sure to shock the attentive reader. While many might have thought it was all about casting a ballot and waiting to see if your candidate won. Lessing and Seligman show how naive that is and how there are people working to pull strings and try to build a pathway so they can determine a winner and keep their hands clean.
Kudos, Messrs. Lessig and Seligman, for this eye-opening piece that I will be reading again soon to see how 2024 followed the rules.
Love/hate the review? An ever-growing collection of others appears at:
http://pecheyponderings.wordpress.com/
September 14, 2024
This book is the result of extensive research by its two authors and many others, in order to find the weak spots that continue to exist in the American democratic system. While raising the alarms on possible ways to overturn a lawful election, it also effectively disproves a number of the most famous theories, highlighting what the biggest threats to the republic are. This is a deeply researched book, one that makes it as inaccessible for the average reader as easy to understand for politically-inclined academic types.
Sometimes I find the book to be fairly ambiguous, all over the place on issues like faithless electors, the Electoral College, and potential situations for legitimate objection. My biggest conclusion from this book, which wasn't dissimilar from some of what the authors clearly believe, is that no rules can be enough. We need to elect defenders of democracy who respect the peaceful transfer of power, rather than just try to pass new laws to stop subverters of it. That doesn't mean that the laws aren't important though, and for that I think this is a good academic test.
Sometimes I find the book to be fairly ambiguous, all over the place on issues like faithless electors, the Electoral College, and potential situations for legitimate objection. My biggest conclusion from this book, which wasn't dissimilar from some of what the authors clearly believe, is that no rules can be enough. We need to elect defenders of democracy who respect the peaceful transfer of power, rather than just try to pass new laws to stop subverters of it. That doesn't mean that the laws aren't important though, and for that I think this is a good academic test.
March 7, 2024
There are so many ways that the system can fall apart. It all comes down to people at the right positions following the written and unwritten rules. It's hard to game out what will unfold in real life if and when some of these rules are broken because they haven't been broken before.
October 10, 2024
This book was written by a couple Harvard legal scholars, and it really shows. The arguments were well thought out and researched, but they made some major assumptions about what the reader already knows. I happened to know some of this context, but certainly not all and you shouldn't need a political science degree to only partially understand.
March 12, 2024
Interesting treatise. It's pretty dry reading for the average person, but worthwhile information to read. Definitely something that should be required reading for a Constitutional law class.
April 16, 2024
interesting food for thought ((the state of this nation fills me with overwhelming dread))
October 3, 2024
Scary shit
May 5, 2024
I heard this book being talked about on public radio awhile ago and just got this from my local public library.
I found this book flawed but interesting. My biggest issue was it was too technical and limiting. It was also not super-readable. It does point out some real problems and some solutions.
Some of the problems and solutions it did not point out - the problem of our judiciary being long under the control of gerrymandered minority rule and straight out undemocratic gamesmanship. Without some change here - whether term limits or age limits - getting out of a situation where a partisan judge just does what a minority wants seems unlikely.
This book talks about every vote being counted equally. Having anti gerrymandering laws would help. Having proportional victories would help (once gerrymandering had been reversed). Having ranked choice voting would help.
This book only talked about voter id in the form of manipulation. With a national voter id system in which everyone was automatically registered on reaching the right age and/or becoming a citizen should make a difference. And of course measuring and counting and checking why some minority population wasn't voting at the rate expected.
So worth reading and talking and thinking about. But not necessarily all that good of a book.
I found this book flawed but interesting. My biggest issue was it was too technical and limiting. It was also not super-readable. It does point out some real problems and some solutions.
Some of the problems and solutions it did not point out - the problem of our judiciary being long under the control of gerrymandered minority rule and straight out undemocratic gamesmanship. Without some change here - whether term limits or age limits - getting out of a situation where a partisan judge just does what a minority wants seems unlikely.
This book talks about every vote being counted equally. Having anti gerrymandering laws would help. Having proportional victories would help (once gerrymandering had been reversed). Having ranked choice voting would help.
This book only talked about voter id in the form of manipulation. With a national voter id system in which everyone was automatically registered on reaching the right age and/or becoming a citizen should make a difference. And of course measuring and counting and checking why some minority population wasn't voting at the rate expected.
So worth reading and talking and thinking about. But not necessarily all that good of a book.
June 5, 2024
5 stars because it is so important that people understand the threats we face this November (and possibly for years to come). There are many scenarios layed out in the book, with the authors' ideas of which ones are more or less likely. It is a fairly technical book, and not a feel good book either. It is disturbingly possible that some corrupt politicians and their allies try to exploit loop holes in our system to steal the election. This is more likely if the results are very close in certain battleground states. Our best chance to avoid a disaster is to understand and be watchful for all the ways bad faith actors might try to do this.
The only other comment I have is that at one point in the book, the authors acknowledge that no system is perfect, and no amount of clever crafting of laws can prevent bad things from happening if large numbers of people are convinced of lies and propaganda. So (going beyond the scope of the book), the implication may be that (if we have a democracy left next year) we really ought to consider how to bring sanity and critical thinking back out our political discourse. More civics classes? Get money out of politics? I don't know, and that's not what the book is about. It's just some thinking that was inspired by the book. And it's a good book that provokes thought beyond the original subject matter.
The only other comment I have is that at one point in the book, the authors acknowledge that no system is perfect, and no amount of clever crafting of laws can prevent bad things from happening if large numbers of people are convinced of lies and propaganda. So (going beyond the scope of the book), the implication may be that (if we have a democracy left next year) we really ought to consider how to bring sanity and critical thinking back out our political discourse. More civics classes? Get money out of politics? I don't know, and that's not what the book is about. It's just some thinking that was inspired by the book. And it's a good book that provokes thought beyond the original subject matter.
April 9, 2024
It is rather frightening to realize how much of our civilized society is based on accepted norms of behavior. And what an exciting task of Prof. Lessig's law students -- to figure out legal ways to steal a presidential election. So they did, with some ingenious twists that would have seemed preposterous prior to January 6 2020; but a few methods are quite plausible, in a scenario with a close and contested result. It is a quick read, and almost made we want to go to law school, when there are such big stakes! The authors describe the National Popular Vote Compact in some detail; I wish they had also posited ways of allocating all electoral votes by congressional district, and suggested ways that would affect the election, as the winner-take-all allocation by state leads to the wildly disproportional emphasis on a few swing states. We have seen reecent efforts by Republicans to twist Nebraska's arm to join the winner-take-all crowd, just the opposite of what I would hope for. As the authors point out, those few swing states get all the attention, leaving the pure red/blue states relatively useless and unattended to. Let's get a constitutional amendment eliminating the electoral college!
August 26, 2024
“How to Steal a Presidential Election” is an earnest, insightful and frighteningly topical examination of the flaws in the American electoral system. The intent of this book is to make the layperson aware of the ways in which the integrity of an election can be undermined. The problem is that there is a lot of legal jargon and at times I found my eyes glazing over... that speaks more to my walnut sized brain and my mind’s tendency to wander. If this sort of book interests you or you’re doing a little pre-election doom reading, like me... pay attention. May I suggest some ambient, instrumental synth vibes? Perhaps some nature sounds? Don’t read this book with one eye on something else... otherwise you’ll be reading it more than once. That said, I am simultaneously fascinated and terrified.
October 8, 2024
Brilliant review of the ECA and amended ECRA, its loopholes in context of pre-21st century, 2000 election, January 6th, and looking beyond. Outlining each strategy to legally take control of an election, from the state electors all the way to Congress, the authors do an amazing job of going into depth without burying the reader who may have little to no (me) background in election laws. I wholeheartedly agree with the idea of fixing rules first and extremist culture (also very important) second--there are many things I would do before relying on the character and democratic ideals of a politician.
September 20, 2024
This book was disturbing. While they offered several ways to protect elections and thereby democracy, ultimately, democracy is upheld by social norms. And those norms have been worn away by a third of the population that hate women, gay people, and minorities so much, that they would rather destroy our government than have to feel uncomfortable for even a moment.
At times this book’s explanations were quite complicated, even for me with a law degree, so I’m not sure it’s as accessible as they’d like it to be for everyone else.
At times this book’s explanations were quite complicated, even for me with a law degree, so I’m not sure it’s as accessible as they’d like it to be for everyone else.
May 1, 2024
It’s very detailed, and subsequently requires one to read carefully and pay attention. If one does, one will discover that our democracy is based on trust and decency. Gerrymandering keeps voters from holding many pols in check. Lessig’s recommendations are important and should be implemented, but more importantly, we need to elect people with character and morals. This book made me sad.
September 20, 2024
The authors have an obvious slant opposing classical republican mixed government. And I doubt the threats they rate as "highly significant" are as likely as they think. Nevertheless, this was an interesting read and introduced me to some of the labyrinthine nature of election law I wasn't familiar with.
June 16, 2024
This book will give you nightmares about elections. even though the authors don't say it, it is a strong argument for moving to a ranked-choice popular vote for president and ditching the Electoral College.
April 24, 2025
Very technical. I felt like I needed a law degree or at least some poli-sci background to really understand this. It's informative and frightening what could happen. I would love to see some afterward reflecting on the 2024 outcomes.
April 13, 2024
A good book for a politics nerd like me but limited appeal to larger audiences. That said the authors bring up some important things to watch for in coming presidential elections.
Read
April 25, 2024I wish the same book could be written in Indian context.
Read
June 5, 2024Certainly makes you question whether the US is truly the great democracy it claims to be.
August 16, 2024
The scenarios for stealing an election in 2024 and beyond. Definitely about Trump and Trump followers attempts to steal elections in 2024 and beyond.
Elections are honest.
Elections are honest.
May 7, 2025
Fascinating analysis of the various legal strategies that could be used to usurp an election. I enjoyed how it explained the electoral college in detail (who knew we vote for slates of electors and not the actual candidates [lawyers did and do]). Also, partially frustrating that clear cut rules have not been implemented to avoid the scenarios the authors describe.
October 6, 2024
A little too technical from a lawyer-speak perspective for me.
November 30, 2024
Hopefully none of this happens soon
October 24, 2024
You can also see this review, along with others I have written, at my blog, Mr. Book's Book Reviews.
Mr. Book just finished How To Steal A Presidential Election, by Lawrence Lessig and Matthew Seligman.
This book, by two constitutional law professors, discusses the legal means by which a presidential election can be stolen and accesses the chances of it actually happening, either in the upcoming election, or the future. The means discussed was the VP claims to have exclusive power to count the votes (the one scenario they give no chance of happening), electors to be coerced, by threats, to flip their votes, a governor certifies results that go against the actual popular vote in the state, delaying the resolution of the election and then have the legislature decide the outcome and a state deciding to make the legislature the final judge, regardless of how the vote goes or even without letting the people vote.
I give this book an A+.
Goodreads requires grades on a 1-5 star system. In my personal conversion system, an A+ equates to 5 stars. (A or A+: 5 stars, B+: 4 stars, B: 3 stars, C: 2 stars, D or F: 1 star).
This review has been posted at my blog, Mr. Book’s Book Reviews, and Goodreads.
Mr. Book originally finished reading this on February 13, 2024. It is normally way too early to reread a book, but he decided to reread it due to both its timeliness and in order to be able to write this review. He finished rereading it on October 24, 2024.
Mr. Book just finished How To Steal A Presidential Election, by Lawrence Lessig and Matthew Seligman.
This book, by two constitutional law professors, discusses the legal means by which a presidential election can be stolen and accesses the chances of it actually happening, either in the upcoming election, or the future. The means discussed was the VP claims to have exclusive power to count the votes (the one scenario they give no chance of happening), electors to be coerced, by threats, to flip their votes, a governor certifies results that go against the actual popular vote in the state, delaying the resolution of the election and then have the legislature decide the outcome and a state deciding to make the legislature the final judge, regardless of how the vote goes or even without letting the people vote.
I give this book an A+.
Goodreads requires grades on a 1-5 star system. In my personal conversion system, an A+ equates to 5 stars. (A or A+: 5 stars, B+: 4 stars, B: 3 stars, C: 2 stars, D or F: 1 star).
This review has been posted at my blog, Mr. Book’s Book Reviews, and Goodreads.
Mr. Book originally finished reading this on February 13, 2024. It is normally way too early to reread a book, but he decided to reread it due to both its timeliness and in order to be able to write this review. He finished rereading it on October 24, 2024.
December 27, 2024
A bit of a law review article so not for everyone but a pretty unnerving "how to" for those so inclined. Good thing the MAGA crowd was too stupid to come up with anything but the most far-fetched variation on the multiple themes laid out here.
The summaries at the end of each chapter synthesizing the discussion that comes before do a commendable job of distilling the short and long term risks of each strategy and the best way to address them.
The summaries at the end of each chapter synthesizing the discussion that comes before do a commendable job of distilling the short and long term risks of each strategy and the best way to address them.
April 18, 2024
I am becoming increasingly convinced that the American election system is broken and needs a complete overhaul if any of the items mentioned in this book prove true.
Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews