Frequently Asked Questions
Aren’t there other organizations that already advocate for eliminating the Electoral College?
There certainly are, but — to the best of our knowledge — The National Vote is the only organization solely dedicated to removing the Electoral College by Constitutional Amendment, replacing it with a direct popular vote for President/Vice President.
Isn’t this an impossible task?
All social change is challenging. Yet, there comes a time when a “tipping point” is reached in people’s thinking, and advances in our society can then take place. For example, it wasn’t that long ago when marijuana decriminalization was seen as a non-starter. It wasn’t long ago when same-sex marriage was seen as unachievable. And it wasn’t that long ago when the concept of an African-American President seemed farfetched.
Our movement is committed to changing hearts and minds, state by state, community by community. Just because something is difficult, doesn’t mean it shouldn’t be done.
Why an amendment? Aren’t there easier ways to achieve a similar outcome?
Yes, amending the U.S. Constitution is a difficult and challenging process. But it is the most durable solution and is absolutely necessary to upholding and reforming our democracy. The Founders created the Constitution to evolve with changing times and to be strengthened through the amendment process.
The National Popular Vote Interstate Compact is a solution that bypasses the amendment process and relies on a critical threshold of states to sign on to the Compact. Although we advocate for the more permanent amendment process, we support the Interstate Compact.
The Republican Party will never agree to this, right?
It is true that the Republican Party has benefited from winning the Electoral College — and losing the popular vote — twice in the past 20 years. In 2004, the Electoral College could easily have “gone the other way” had only 119,000 voters in Ohio voted for John Kerry (D) instead of George W. Bush (R). Had that happened, Kerry would have won the Electoral College despite George W. Bush winning the popular vote by 2.95 million.
Moreover, 5.3 million registered Republican votes in California — more than the entire populations of 26 states — get silenced in nearly every Presidential election cycle. Surely the Republican Party must care about this systematic disenfranchisement of voters’ voices.
Why now?
Our democracy is in peril and is remarkably fragile. Since the 2020 election, there are many attempts in state legislatures to restrict voter participation — on top of the 12-14 percent reduction in voter turnout in non-swing states. If we want our democracy to flourish and to be representative of the diverse American electorate, we need to find ways to bolster voter engagement — not hinder it.
Dismantling the Electoral College is one such mechanism.
Hasn’t this been tried before?
Yes, numerous times. The greatest degree of progress was made in 1969, when the House of Representatives passed an amendment to remove the Electoral College by a margin of 338-70! Sadly, the amendment died in the Senate, when three southern Senators filibustered it to death.