The fight to abolish the Electoral College first began in the 1800s

 

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There have been growing calls in recent years to reform or abolish the Electoral College completely in favor of the popular vote, amid criticism that the electoral system overlooks voters in all but a handful of swing states, giving outsize representation to states with a smaller population.

The push has been backed primarily by Democrats, whose presidential candidates Al Gore and Hillary Clinton each won the popular votes but lost the presidency in 2000 and 2016, respectively.

But the push to do away with the system is not new. Since the 1800s, members of Congress have introduced more than 700 proposals to reform or eliminate the Electoral College by way of constitutional amendment. 

But the most popular alternative in recent years, the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact, works around the constitutional amendment process. . If put in place, it would require a state’s electoral votes to go to the candidate that wins the national popular vote. 

The compact would only take effect, however, if states with a combined total of 270 electoral votes agree to join – and to date, the compact’s Democrat-led supporters have failed to secure buy-in from many Republican-led and toss-up states.