Jesse Wegman

Jesse Wegman
EducationWesleyan University (BA, 1996)
New York University School of Law (JD, 2005)
OccupationsJournalist, author, legal scholar
Writing career
Period2000s–present
GenresNon-fiction, history, constitutional law, politics
Notable worksLet the People Pick the President (2020)
The Lost Founder (2026)

Jesse Wegman (born about 1973[1]) is an American journalist, author, and legal scholar who serves as a Senior Fellow at the Brennan Center for Justice.[2] He is best known for his extensive work on the Supreme Court of the United States, electoral reform, and American constitutional history. From 2013 to 2025, he was a member of the The New York Times editorial board.[3] He later joined the Brennan Center for Justice as a Senior Fellow.

Wegman is the author of two major books on American democracy: Let the People Pick the President: The Case for Abolishing the Electoral College (2020) and The Lost Founder: James Wilson and the Forgotten Fight for a People's Constitution (2026).

Early life and education

Wegman is a native of Massachusetts and spent his youth growing up in Boston and Los Angeles.[4][5] He graduated with a bachelor's degree in psychology from Wesleyan University in 1996, where he completed a senior thesis.[6] He subsequently earned a Juris Doctor (J.D.) from the New York University School of Law in 2005, where he focused on constitutional law and civil liberties.

He clerked for Judge Gabriel W. Gorenstein at the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.[2]

Career

Journalism

Before joining The New York Times, Wegman worked as a reporter and editor for various legal and mainstream media publications. He served as a producer and reporter for National Public Radio (NPR), a legal editor at Reuters,[2] and held editorial positions at The New York Observer,[1] Newsweek, and The Daily Beast.[2] From 2012 to 2013, Wegman served as a senior editor and editorial operations manager for The Newsweek Daily Beast Company.

Wegman spent over a decade as a member of the The New York Times editorial board from 2013 to 2025. During his tenure, his writing focused heavily on legal affairs, the Supreme Court, democratic institutions, and electoral systems.

Public policy and scholarship

Following his departure from The New York Times editorial board, Wegman joined the Brennan Center for Justice as a Senior Fellow. In this role, he continues to write, comment, and lecture extensively on Supreme Court reform, voting rights, and constitutional amendments.

Books

Let the People Pick the President (2020)

Wegman's first book, Let the People Pick the President: The Case for Abolishing the Electoral College, was published by St. Martin's Press in 2020. The book blends historical research from the Constitutional Convention with contemporary interviews of 21st-century political campaign managers. Wegman argues that the electoral college is an antiquated, anti-democratic system that reduces national elections to a handful of swing states. He advocates for reform through methods like the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact to ensure that every individual vote carries equal weight.

The Lost Founder (2026)

His second book, The Lost Founder: James Wilson and the Forgotten Fight for a People's Constitution, was published by Celadon Books in June 2026. The biography resurfaces the legacy of James Wilson, an influential but frequently overlooked Founding Father.

Wegman explores Wilson's pivotal role in shaping American democracy, detailing how he penned the first draft of the U.S. Constitution and fiercely advocated for a government rooted directly in popular sovereignty. The book highlights Wilson's then-radical belief that both the president and the legislature should be elected directly by a popular vote of the people.

Bibliography

Books

  • Let the People Pick the President: The Case for Abolishing the Electoral College (St. Martin's Press, 2020) ISBN 978-1250221971
  • The Lost Founder: James Wilson and the Forgotten Fight for a People's Constitution (Celadon Books, 2026) ISBN 978-1250868206

Selected journalism

The New York Times

Brennan Center for Justice

Other

  • Wegman, Jesse (May 1999). "Six Days". The Atlantic Monthly. Vol. 283, no. 5. p. 38. Subtitled "On learning a new alphabet"

Awards and honors

Interviews of Jesse Wegman

Personal

Wegman is the son of David H. Wegman of Auburndale, Massachusetts, and the late Peggy Nelson Wegman (died in 2009). David H. Wegman retired as the dean of the School of Health and Environment at the University of Massachusetts Lowell. Peggy Nelson Wegman was a clinical psychotherapist in private practice in Auburndale, Massachusetts.[1]

Jesse Wegman married Kyra Himmelbaum in August 2012 in Rockport, Massachusetts. Himmelbaum was an actress known professionally as Kyra Miller, and an assistant professor of acting at Tulane University.[1]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Kyra Himmelbaum and Jesse Wegman". The New York Times. August 19, 2012. Retrieved June 16, 2026.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Jesse Wegman: Senior Fellow, Office of the President". Brennan Center for Justice. Retrieved June 16, 2026.
  3. ↑ "Jesse Wegman editorial boardmember profile". The New York Times. Retrieved June 16, 2026.
  4. ↑ "Jesse Wegman Author Profile". The New York Times. Retrieved June 16, 2026.
  5. ↑ Gavin, Christopher (May 21, 2020). "Jesse Wegman makes a case for abolishing the Electoral College". The Boston Globe. Retrieved June 16, 2026.
  6. ↑ Fox, Blake (February 10, 2026). "Jesse Wegman '96 Reflects on Covering the Supreme Court for The New York Times". The Wesleyan Argus. Retrieved June 16, 2026.
  7. ↑ "Jesse Wegman of The New York Times receives $75,000 Pulliam Fellowship for Editorial Writing". Society of Professional Journalists. August 29, 2023. Retrieved June 16, 2026.
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