Several Senate Democrats are pushing a constitutional amendment to abolish the Electoral College and replace it with a presidential election system where the winner of the popular vote wins the White House contest.
Sens. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, and Peter Welch, D-Vt., introduced the proposed amendment, according to a press release.
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,” Durbin said, according to the release. “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.”
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Senate Majority Whip Richard Durbin, D-Ill., speaks following the weekly Senate luncheon at the U.S. Capitol on Dec. 3, 2024, in Washington, D.C. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
“In an election, the person who gets the most votes should win. It’s that simple,” Schatz stated. “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 The Electoral College is outdated and it’s undemocratic.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.”
Welch claimed that “right now our elections aren’t as representative as they should be because of the outdated and flawed electoral college.”
GOP Sen. Mike Lee of Utah slammed the proposal, calling it “a phenomenally bad idea,” in a post on X. “So naturally, Democrats are pushing it,” he added.
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Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah., arrives for the Senate Republicans leadership election in the Capitol on Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2024. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., responded to the proposal by accusing the Senate Democrats of wanting “to trample the Constitution.”
President-elect Donald Trump trounced Vice President Kamala Harris in the 2024 presidential election, winning both the Electoral College and the popular vote.
But there have been elections in U.S. history in which the winner of the Electoral College did not win the popular vote.
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Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump and Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton shake hands after the Presidential Debate at Hofstra University on Sept. 26, 2016 in Hempstead, New York. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
The most recent example was Trump’s 2016 victory where former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton won the national popular vote but lost the Electoral College.
