Amendments To Abolish Electoral College Don’t Go Far
In the United States Senate earlier this year, Senator Bill Nelson introduced a resolution that would begin the process of creating an amendment to the Constitution of the United States of America. The proposed amendment would abolish the Electoral College, the current system that provides for an indirect election of the President of the United States by delegates chosen at the state level. Nelson’s amendment has not advanced very far, however, sitting unconsidered in the files of the Senate Judiciary Committee with no cosponsors.
Over in the House of Representatives, the amendment to abolish the Electoral College is in even worse shape. That’s because there are two resolutions proposing such an amendment, sent to the same committee, not supporting each other at all.
Gene Green, Democrat from Texas, offered his resolution on January 7th, but it hasn’t advanced through the legislative process at all since February. Representative Jesse Jackson from Illinois introduced his own resolution in March, and it has sat in the House Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties, untouched, ever since. In a sign of how unlikely it is for either resolution to gain consideration by the whole House of Representatives, neither Green nor Jackson have bothered to cosponsor the other’s resolution.
The National Popular Vote bill would guarantee the Presidency to the candidate who receives the most popular votes in all 50 states (and DC).
Every vote, everywhere, would be politically relevant and equal in presidential elections.
The bill would take effect only when enacted, in identical form, by states possessing a majority of the electoral votes–that is, enough electoral votes to elect a President (270 of 538). When the bill comes into effect, all the electoral votes from those states would be awarded to the presidential candidate who receives the most popular votes in all 50 states (and DC).
The Constitution gives every state the power to allocate its electoral votes for president, as well as to change state law on how those votes are awarded.
The bill is currently endorsed by over 1,659 state legislators (in 48 states) who have sponsored and/or cast recorded votes in favor of the bill.
In Gallup polls since 1944, only about 20% of the public has supported the current system of awarding all of a state’s electoral votes to the presidential candidate who receives the most votes in each separate state (with about 70% opposed and about 10% undecided). The recent Washington Post, Kaiser Family Foundation, and Harvard University poll shows 72% support for direct nationwide election of the President. This national result is similar to recent polls in closely divided battleground states: Colorado– 68%, Iowa –75%, Michigan– 73%, Missouri– 70%, New Hampshire– 69%, Nevada– 72%, New Mexico– 76%, North Carolina– 74%, Ohio– 70%, Pennsylvania — 78%, Virginia — 74%, and Wisconsin — 71%; in smaller states (3 to 5 electoral votes): Delaware –75%, Maine — 77%, Nebraska — 74%, New Hampshire –69%, Nevada — 72%, New Mexico — 76%, Rhode Island — 74%, and Vermont — 75%; in Southern and border states: Arkansas –80%, Kentucky — 80%, Mississippi –77%, Missouri — 70%, North Carolina — 74%, and Virginia — 74%; and in other states polled: California — 70%, Connecticut — 74% , Massachusetts — 73%, New York — 79%, and Washington — 77%.
The National Popular Vote bill has passed 29 state legislative chambers, in 19 small, medium-small, medium, and large states, including one house in Arkansas, Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Michigan, Nevada, New Mexico, North Carolina, and Oregon, and both houses in California, Colorado, Hawaii, Illinois, New Jersey, Maryland, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Washington. The bill has been enacted by Hawaii, Illinois, New Jersey, Maryland, and Washington. These five states possess 61 electoral votes — 23% of the 270 necessary to bring the law into effect.
See http://www.NationalPopularVote.com
senator nelson needs to retire or vote him out. he has betrayed the senior citizens of fla. why are we continuing to spend huge amounts of money on health care and on nasa. the country is going bankrupt and senator nelson continues to aid obama’s spending spree. I guess he feels he does not have to listen to majority of the people of fla. if he votes to pass the final bill we the people will rise up and spend whatever it takes to get him out of office if he does not go to jail first.
he wants to do away with the eletorial college so it wou;d be easier for the democrats to get re-elected because he knows if this healtyh care bill gets signed into law it will be a long time before another democrat occupies the white house. the tea party folks and consveratives with help of the independents will sweep the congress clean of the people who voted to take this country down.