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Electoral College abolition amendment
Bills have been introduced in the US Congress on several occasions to amend the US Constitution to abolish or to reduce the power of the Electoral College and to provide for the direct popular election of the US president and vice president.
The closest that the United States has come to abolishing the Electoral College occurred during the 91st Congress (1969–1971). The presidential election of 1968 resulted in Richard Nixon receiving 301 electoral votes (56% of electors), Hubert Humphrey 191 (35.5%), and George Wallace 46 (8.5%) with 13.5% of the popular vote. However, Nixon had received only 511,944 more popular votes than Humphrey, 43.5% to 42.9%, less than 1% of the national total.
Representative Emanuel Celler (D-New York), chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, responded to public concerns over the disparity between the popular vote and electoral vote by introducing House Joint Resolution 681, a proposed constitutional amendment to replace the Electoral College with a simpler two-round system based on the national popular vote similar to that used in French presidential elections. The proposed system would have the pair of candidates who received the highest number of votes win the presidency and the vice presidency if they won at least 40% of the national popular vote. If no pair won at least 40% of the popular vote, a runoff election would be held in which the choice of president and vice president would be made from the two pairs of persons who had received the highest number of votes in the first election. The word "pair" was defined as "two persons who shall have consented to the joining of their names as candidates for the offices of President and Vice President."
On April 29, 1969, the House Judiciary Committee voted 28 to 6 to approve the proposal. Debate on the proposal before the full House of Representatives ended on September 11, 1969 and was eventually passed with bipartisan support on September 18, 1969, by a vote of 339 to 70. On September 30, 1969, President Nixon gave his endorsement for adoption of the proposal and encouraging the Senate to pass its version of the proposal, which had been sponsored as Senate Joint Resolution 1 by Senator Birch Bayh (D-Indiana).
On October 8, 1969, the New York Times reported that 30 state legislatures were "either certain or likely to approve a constitutional amendment embodying the direct election plan if it passes its final Congressional test in the Senate." Ratification of 38 state legislatures would have been needed for adoption. The paper also reported that six other states had yet to state a preference, six were leaning toward opposition, and eight were solidly opposed.
On August 14, 1970, the Senate Judiciary Committee sent its report advocating passage of the proposal to the full Senate. The Judiciary Committee had approved the proposal by a vote of 11 to 6. The six members who opposed the plan, Democratic Senators James Eastland (Mississippi), John Little McClellan (Arkansas), and Sam Ervin (North Carolina), along with Republican Senators Roman Hruska (Nebraska), Hiram Fong (Hawaii), and Strom Thurmond (South Carolina), all argued that although the present system had potential loopholes, it had worked well throughout the years. Bayh indicated that supporters of the measure were about a dozen votes shy from the 67 needed for the proposal to pass the full Senate. He called upon Nixon to attempt to persuade undecided Republican senators to support the proposal. Nixon did not renege on his previous endorsement, but he chose not to make any further personal appeals to back the proposal.
On September 8, 1970, the Senate commenced open debate on the proposal, but it was quickly filibustered. The lead objectors to the proposal were mostly southern senators and conservatives from small states, both Democrats and Republicans, who argued that abolishing the Electoral College would reduce their states' political influence. On September 17, 1970, a motion for cloture, which would have ended the filibuster, received 54 votes for cloture to 36 against failing to receive the required two-thirds of senators voting. A second motion for cloture on September 29, 1970, also failed by 53 to 34. Thereafter, Senate Majority Leader Mike Mansfield of Montana moved to lay the proposal aside so the Senate could attend to other business. However, the proposal was never considered again and died when the 91st Congress ended on January 3, 1971.
The Every Vote Counts Amendment was a joint resolution to amend the US Constitution to provide for the popular election of the president and the vice president under a new electoral system. The proposed constitutional amendment sought to abolish the Electoral College and to have every presidential election determined by a plurality of the national vote. It was introduced by US Representative Gene Green (D-Texas) on January 4, 2005.
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Electoral College abolition amendment
Bills have been introduced in the US Congress on several occasions to amend the US Constitution to abolish or to reduce the power of the Electoral College and to provide for the direct popular election of the US president and vice president.
The closest that the United States has come to abolishing the Electoral College occurred during the 91st Congress (1969–1971). The presidential election of 1968 resulted in Richard Nixon receiving 301 electoral votes (56% of electors), Hubert Humphrey 191 (35.5%), and George Wallace 46 (8.5%) with 13.5% of the popular vote. However, Nixon had received only 511,944 more popular votes than Humphrey, 43.5% to 42.9%, less than 1% of the national total.
Representative Emanuel Celler (D-New York), chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, responded to public concerns over the disparity between the popular vote and electoral vote by introducing House Joint Resolution 681, a proposed constitutional amendment to replace the Electoral College with a simpler two-round system based on the national popular vote similar to that used in French presidential elections. The proposed system would have the pair of candidates who received the highest number of votes win the presidency and the vice presidency if they won at least 40% of the national popular vote. If no pair won at least 40% of the popular vote, a runoff election would be held in which the choice of president and vice president would be made from the two pairs of persons who had received the highest number of votes in the first election. The word "pair" was defined as "two persons who shall have consented to the joining of their names as candidates for the offices of President and Vice President."
On April 29, 1969, the House Judiciary Committee voted 28 to 6 to approve the proposal. Debate on the proposal before the full House of Representatives ended on September 11, 1969 and was eventually passed with bipartisan support on September 18, 1969, by a vote of 339 to 70. On September 30, 1969, President Nixon gave his endorsement for adoption of the proposal and encouraging the Senate to pass its version of the proposal, which had been sponsored as Senate Joint Resolution 1 by Senator Birch Bayh (D-Indiana).
On October 8, 1969, the New York Times reported that 30 state legislatures were "either certain or likely to approve a constitutional amendment embodying the direct election plan if it passes its final Congressional test in the Senate." Ratification of 38 state legislatures would have been needed for adoption. The paper also reported that six other states had yet to state a preference, six were leaning toward opposition, and eight were solidly opposed.
On August 14, 1970, the Senate Judiciary Committee sent its report advocating passage of the proposal to the full Senate. The Judiciary Committee had approved the proposal by a vote of 11 to 6. The six members who opposed the plan, Democratic Senators James Eastland (Mississippi), John Little McClellan (Arkansas), and Sam Ervin (North Carolina), along with Republican Senators Roman Hruska (Nebraska), Hiram Fong (Hawaii), and Strom Thurmond (South Carolina), all argued that although the present system had potential loopholes, it had worked well throughout the years. Bayh indicated that supporters of the measure were about a dozen votes shy from the 67 needed for the proposal to pass the full Senate. He called upon Nixon to attempt to persuade undecided Republican senators to support the proposal. Nixon did not renege on his previous endorsement, but he chose not to make any further personal appeals to back the proposal.
On September 8, 1970, the Senate commenced open debate on the proposal, but it was quickly filibustered. The lead objectors to the proposal were mostly southern senators and conservatives from small states, both Democrats and Republicans, who argued that abolishing the Electoral College would reduce their states' political influence. On September 17, 1970, a motion for cloture, which would have ended the filibuster, received 54 votes for cloture to 36 against failing to receive the required two-thirds of senators voting. A second motion for cloture on September 29, 1970, also failed by 53 to 34. Thereafter, Senate Majority Leader Mike Mansfield of Montana moved to lay the proposal aside so the Senate could attend to other business. However, the proposal was never considered again and died when the 91st Congress ended on January 3, 1971.
The Every Vote Counts Amendment was a joint resolution to amend the US Constitution to provide for the popular election of the president and the vice president under a new electoral system. The proposed constitutional amendment sought to abolish the Electoral College and to have every presidential election determined by a plurality of the national vote. It was introduced by US Representative Gene Green (D-Texas) on January 4, 2005.