Democrats consider ditching US electoral college

The hottest topic for the US Democratic presidential field this week is abolishing the Electoral College.

A young local gets hands-on with Democratic presidential candidate Beto O'Rourke at a meet-and-greet at Tuckerman Brewing in Conway, New Hampshire. Picture: Getty Images

The hottest position in the US Democratic presidential field this week is abolishing the Electoral College.

Elizabeth Warren kicked things off at a town hall on Monday night when the Massachusetts senator drew enthusiastic applause by saying: “Every vote matters, and the way we can make that happen is that we can have national voting, and that means get rid of the Electoral College.”

The next day, former Texas representative Beto O’Rourke said there was “a lot of wisdom” in abolishing the Electoral College.

California senator Kamala Harris told late-night host Jimmy Kimmel on Tuesday night that she was “open to the discussion”.

Mayor Pete Buttigieg of South Bend, Indiana, tweeted a clip of him saying the Electoral College “has got to go”.

It’s the latest push by White House hopefuls to embrace a procedural tactic to rally the Democratic base, following similar calls to scrap the filibuster and increase the size of the Supreme Court.

The 2020 candidates are tapping into Democratic anger after Donald Trump became the second Republican in five presidential elections to win the presidency through the Electoral College while losing the popular vote. The Electoral College, a group that comes together every four years to technically elect the president, is enshrined in the constitution and won’t be easy to eliminate.

Mr O’Rourke suggested a constitutional amendment to award the presidency to the winner of the popular vote. Several Democratic-controlled states are pushing for a national popular vote. But rather than pass such an amendment, they are joining the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact, a group of states that pledge to give their electoral votes to the winner of the national popular vote.

The compact goes into effect only when it includes states representing 270 electoral votes, the majority needed to win the White House. Colorado Governor Jared Polis brought the current total to 181 when he signed a bill last week to join the compact, and the Democratic governors of Delaware and New Mexico also have bills on their desk.

Still, with legislative sessions winding down, there are no other states expected to join this year.

Critics say the Electoral College focuses attention on a handful of swing states at the expense of candidates campaigning throughout the country. Defenders say the current system almost always lines up with the popular vote and is part of the way the country’s founders wanted to check popular passions and encourage attention to smaller states.

AP