Democratic senators want to amend Constitution to abolish Electoral College

Three Democratic senators are pushing to abolish the Electoral College as President-elect Donald Trump prepares to take office. The group argues the system is flawed and doesn’t represent the voice of every American.

The idea is to amend the Constitution, using an amendment that would see presidential elections solely rely on the majority vote of Americans. As it stands, the Constitution enshrines the Electoral College system.

A state’s legislative delegation, both senators and the amount of congressional districts a state has, determine how many electoral votes they get. Presidential candidates are then tasked with securing 270 of the 538 electoral votes.

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Sens. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, Dick Durbin, D-Ill., and Peter Welch, D-Vt., are using November’s election as an example. Trump won each of the seven battleground states, a key factor in deciding the next president.

Arizona, Michigan, Georgia, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin are considered to be battleground states, all places that can swing in favor of either candidate.

The senators argue the current system helped prior presidents snag victory even if they didn’t capture the popular vote. They point to two cases, George W. Bush in 2000 and Donald Trump in 2016.

Schatz said a single vote shouldn’t weigh more based on where a person lives.

“The Electoral College is outdated and it’s undemocratic,” he said.

If the Electoral College wasn’t used in the 2024 presidential election, Trump would have still won over Kamala Harris based on the popular vote. The group said 17 states and the District of Columbia are backing the move to remove the Electoral College, and instead declare a winner based on the nation’s popular vote.

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Hillary Clinton tried to abolish the Electoral College following the 2016 presidential election. She secured the popular vote but lost many key electoral votes.

According to Pew Research, a 2024 study found 63% of Americans want to see a winner based on the candidate who wins the most votes.