The Democrat- brimming 120th Congress will have an historic opportunity to neuter the anachronistic, Republican-favoring Electoral College, without amending the Constitution. Had we been able to do that in the past quarter century, we would've had President Al Gore (and no Iraq war) and President Hillary Clinton (and likely no more Trump). Here's how it could -- and should -- work:
With Democratic victories in state legislatures and governorships across the country Tuesday, the Electoral College could now be in jeopardy—even without a near-impossible constitutional amendment.
If passed by enough states, the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact would effectively nullify the Electoral College and, with it, the possibility of a candidate being elected president without winning the popular vote. Since the compact was introduced in 2006, 19 states have passed it, agreeing to assign their electoral votes to whichever candidate wins the national popular vote. That amounts to 222 of the 270 electoral votes that a candidate needs to win the presidential election.
On Tuesday, Democrats took control of state legislatures and governorships in Pennsylvania, Michigan, Arizona, Wisconsin, and Nevada, all states that haven’t agreed to the compact. If all five vote to join, then the total number of electoral votes apportioned based on the national popular vote jumps to 283.
That all depends on whether Democrats in these states think that the compact is a priority. Democrats in Michigan failed to pass the compact when they held a trifecta from 2023 to 2024, and Nevada’s Democratic governor vetoed the compact in 2019, saying that it would hurt the state’s role in presidential elections.
There are also potential constitutional issues. In Article 2, Section 1, Clauses 2 and 3, the Constitution says that states can appoint electors “in such Manner as the Legislature thereof may direct.” But in Article 1, Section 10, Clause 3, it also prohibits interstate compacts without the consent of Congress.
The Democratic takeover of Congress would seemingly make this moot, and in theory, if the compact comes to a vote in the House and Senate, it wouldn’t even need the president’s signature. But Democrats still don’t have a filibuster-proof majority of 60 votes in the Senate, and with their dwindling national popularity, Republicans would undoubtedly try to block nullifying the Electoral College. After all, four of the five presidents who have won the presidency while losing the popular vote were Republicans, including President Donald Trump in 2016. (our emphasis)
Well, let's be sure the Senate nukes the filibuster so that's one more obstacle to progress and democracy gone (and if Schumer doesn't make that rule change, what was the point of electing a Democratic Congress only to have it stymied by the rump MAGAt Republicans?). Don't let anyone tell you Democrats don't have a mandate. Democrats at every level have had a generational power shift handed to them by the electorate to make fundamental changes for the good, including direct election of the President. They must use it!
(Image: Btw, the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact is supported by that radical organization The League of Women Voters!)
