If presidential elections were decided by popular vote instead of the Electoral College, Al Gore would have been elected president in 2000. How we choose a president profoundly impacts how campaigns are run, the importance of swing states and an election’s outcome. It’s certainly no surprise that the Electoral College vs. popular vote controversy has sparked considerable debate. As the issue surfaces heading into November, is it time to graduate from the Founding Father's Electoral College concept, or are popularity contests no way to choose a president?
A 2007 survey by the Washington Post found that 72% of respondents supported a national popular vote for president. Other polls in specific states have found 69% support in the large and urban state of California and 75% in the small and rural state of Vermont. These results have been consistently high for decades and span across political parties, different ages, and different demographic and ethnic groups.
The National Popular Vote plan has been embraced by prominent leaders from both major political parties, including former Congressmen John Anderson (R-Illinois and Independent presidential candidate) and former Representative John Buchanan (R-Alabama), former Senator Birch Bayh (D-Indiana).
Newspapers that have endorsed the National Popular Vote plan include the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Sacramento Bee, Chicago Sun-Times, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Denver Post, the Columbian, Wichita Falls Times, Fayetteville Observer, Boston Globe, Hartford Courant, and the Tennessean.
Legislators have responded to the strong public support for popular election of the President. More than 400 state legislators have co-sponsored legislation to enact the National Popular Vote and more than 700 others have voted for the bill. It has passed a total of 21 legislative chambers in a period of under two years and has already been fully enacted in four states.
Back in 1969, 80% of the members of the House of Representatives voted for popular election of the President, which had the backing of Presidents Nixon and Johnson as well as the AFL-CIO and the Chamber of Commerce.
The time has come to give Americans what we want.
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