Yes, you read correctly, the 535 folks whom 80 percent of Americans dislike make these momentous decisions.
One thing I worry about is a contingent presidential election. That situation arises when no candidate gets a majority of electoral votes (270 of 538). Should this situation arise, Congress gets to pick the next president and vice president.
Gods save us from the enlightened centrists who somehow perceive both parties as the same.
Even if this pustulant third party managed to win the White House they'd have zero support from either chamber. They'd be completely ineffective at governing.
It's not about the third party winning, they won't. It's about how no majority in the electoral college means that the decision is wrested from the people and throws open the door wide for political shenanigans that are far from democratic.
Think of it like something similar to the spoiler effect if that makes it clearer.
I get what the topic is about: the very undemocratic possibility that our leaders get chosen by fiat and the free-for-all it would prompt. But regardless of the author's insistence that it isn't just about third parties, the enlightened centrists are really aggravating the problem by threatening to split the vote.
On top of all that, no one would regard the President as legitimate. Look where we're at now, 30% of the country literally believes a Presidential election can be faked enough for Trump to have lost.