The Hill (“Senate Democrats push plan to abolish Electoral College“):
Three Democratic senators unveiled a constitutional amendment to abolish the Electoral College system Monday, just more than a month after President-elect Trump stunned the Democrats by sweeping all seven battleground states, knocking off three Senate Democratic incumbents in the process.
Sens. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii,) Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) and Peter Welch (D-Vt.), three leading progressive Senate voices, say it’s time to “restore democracy” by allowing for the direct election of presidents through the popular vote alone.
The senators are troubled that the Electoral College has twice elected a candidate who didn’t win the popular vote in the past 19 years. In both those instances, a Republican captured the White House — George W. Bush in the 2000 election and Trump in the 2016 election.
Their joint statement (“Durbin, Schatz, Welch Introduce Constitutional Amendment To End Undemocratic Electoral College“) makes some good, if well-trod, points.
“In 2000, before the general election, I introduced a bipartisan resolution to amend the Constitution and abolish the Electoral College. I still believe today that it is time to retire this 18th century invention that disenfranchises millions of Americans,” said Durbin. “The American people deserve to choose all their leaders, and I am proud to support this effort with Senators Schatz and Welch to empower voters.”
“In an election, the person who gets the most votes should win. It’s that simple,” said Schatz. “No one’s vote should count for more based on where they live. The Electoral College is outdated and it’s undemocratic. It’s time to end it.”
“Our democracy is at its strongest when everyone’s voice is heard—and right now our elections aren’t as representative as they should be because of the outdated and flawed electoral college. I’m excited to partner with my friends and colleagues Senator Schatz and Chair Durbin on this important constitutional amendment, which will help empower every voter in every state,” said Welch.
In all but five presidential elections, the winner of the election received the most votes. Two of those five times came in the last 25 years, handing the presidency to candidates the majority of voters rejected. A handful of states now determine the leader for all 50 states, regardless of each candidate’s final vote tally. The proposed constitutional amendment would address this inequality by abolishing the outdated Electoral College system. Specifically, the constitutional amendment would provide for the direct election of the President and Vice President of the United States by a popular vote among voters in each state and the District of Columbia.
Seventeen states and the District of Columbia have joined a national plan to bypass the Electoral College by agreeing to allocate its electoral votes to whichever candidate wins the nationwide popular vote. The movement to abolish the Electoral College is also gaining popularity among voters with polls showing more voters preferring direct elections through a popular vote over the existing Electoral College system.
But here’s the thing: there have been ample opportunities to introduce this amendment when it has at least a marginal chance at passage and, certainly, at least be a debating point during an election cycle. We’re now in the lame duck period. The current Congress goes out of session Thursday and anything introduced now will have to be re-introduced when the new Congress comes into session on January 3.
One might say that it’s grandstanding but, given the timing, no one is really paying attention. The Hill—which covers Congress as its remit—is far and away the most prominent outlet covering the news.
