Opinion: The electoral college is an abomination, and Democrats should keep talking about it
Elizabeth Warren said what needed to be said. More, please. By Paul Waldman Paul Waldman Opinion writer covering politics Email Bio Follow Opinion writer March 20 at 12:33 PM Elite Democrats are finally coming out against one of the most profoundly anti-democratic institutions in the U.S. political system — the electoral college — and it’s about time.
So it was that on Monday, Sen. Elizabeth Warren called for an end to the electoral college, in addition to advocating a constitutional amendment to protect voting rights. Pete Buttigieg told this blog, “It’s gotta go. We need a national popular vote.” Beto O’Rourke said “there’s a lot of wisdom” in getting rid of it. Sen. Kamala D. Harris told Jimmy Kimmel, “I’m open to the discussion.
The core of their argument is that the electoral college forces candidates to campaign across the country, visiting all kinds of places and seeking support from all kinds of Americans, whereas if we just allowed the person with the most votes to win, candidates would stick to urban centers and ignore everyone else.
— Donald J. Trump March 20, 2019 But that’s demonstrably, even laughably, false. What the electoral college actually does, as we all know, is force candidates to campaign only in the tiny number of “battleground” states where the vote is close. That we even have to argue about whether a system in which candidates have reason to campaign only in a small number of states and the person who gets the most votes might not wind up becoming president is enough to make you crazy. We should also note that every other democracy in the world has a system in which — and see if you can follow me here, because it gets pretty complicated — they have an election, and the person who gets the most votes wins.
Malaysia Latest News, Malaysia Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Trump changes his mind on Electoral College, now wants to keep itTrump was wrong; Obama actually won the popular vote over Republican Mitt Romney by 5 million votes, and carried the Electoral College, 332 to 206. In 2016, Trump lost the popular vote to Hillary Clinton by some three million, but carried the Electoral College with 304 votes.
Read more »
Analysis | Democrats calling to abolish the electoral college should not be surprisingDirect popular vote has majority support — and it has repeatedly worked against Democrats.
Read more »
Why Democrats hate the Electoral College and Republicans love itFunny thing. Democrats, who keep losing elections where they get more votes, want to get rid of the Electoral College and Republicans, who keep winning elections where they get less votes, want to keep it.
Read more »
Opinion | Targeting the Electoral CollegeOpinion: There is more wisdom to the electoral college system than populist critics allow
Read more »
New Colorado law will give state's electoral college votes to national popular vote winnerColorado could be part of voting history next general election day, joining 11 other states looking to ensure that their electoral college votes echo the will of the American majority to elect the next president.
Read more »
Eagle drama, Electoral College, T-shirt cannon crime: News from around our 50 states
Read more »
Analysis | Trump’s defensive defense of the electoral college doesn’t make much senseAnalysis: Trump’s defensive defense of the Electoral College doesn’t make much sense
Read more »
On the electoral college, Trump dramatically changes direction.MaddowBlog: President Trump, who won the presidency via the Electoral College but lost the popular vote, said the Electoral College is 'a disaster for a democracy' in 2012. Now, he's changed his mind.
Read more »
5 things to know for March 20: Mueller, Electoral College, Christchurch, Monsanto5 things for Wednesday: - Mueller probe - Electoral College - Christchurch attack - Brexit - Monsanto
Read more »
Trump rages about Electoral College reform and lowering voter age to 16 in midnight Twitter tiradeDonald Trump has used his latest overnight Twitter tirade to rail against proposals among some Democrats to abolish the Electoral College system and lower the voting age to 16. “Campaigning for the Popular Vote is much easier & different than campaigning for the Electoral College,” Mr Trump tweeted
Read more »