Hillary Clinton renews call to “abolish the Electoral College”
Pollemix News – December 15, 2020
Fresh off casting a vote for Joe Biden and Kamala Harris in her role as an Elector for the state of New York, Hillary Clinton called for the Electoral College to be abolished in favor of the President being chosen by the popular vote instead.
As Trump’s opponent in 2016, Clinton won the popular vote by approximately 3 million more votes but was routed 304 – 227 in the Electoral College (7 faithless electors cast ballots for candidate’s other than Democrats or Republicans). Clinton’s defeat was bitterly received by Democrats who renewed their objection to the Electoral College in the wake of Hillary’s defeat, claiming that it negated the will of the majority and was a relic of America’s founding designed to retain power in the hands of land-owning elites.
Republicans on the other hand have argued that abolishing the Electoral College will give undue influence to populous liberal states such as California and New York, thus disenfranchising rural America. Justifying this fear is the fact that Republican candidates have only won the popular vote once in the last 8 election cycles, George W Bush in 2004.
Hillary’s comments came on the same day that state electors met across the country to formalize Biden’s Electoral College victory with 302 electors voting for Biden and 232 for Trump. Shortly after casting her electoral vote for the Biden/Harris ticket alongside husband Bill Clinton, the former Secretary of State tweeted:
I believe we should abolish the Electoral College and select our president by the winner of the popular vote, same as every other office.
But while it still exists, I was proud to cast my vote in New York for Joe Biden and Kamala Harris. pic.twitter.com/th9qebu9ka
— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) December 14, 2020
Although their have been repeated calls over the years to eliminate the Electoral College it would require a constitutional amendment to proceed and considering the divided nature of Congress this seems nigh on impossible in the near future.
POLL: Should the Presidency be decided by the popular vote rather than the Electoral College?
