Democratic Sen. Barbara Boxer Introduces Bill to Abolish Electoral College

Democratic Sen. Barbara Boxer Introduces Bill to Abolish Electoral College
Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif. on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., on Sept. 10, 2014. (AP Photo/Cliff Owen)
Jack Phillips
11/15/2016
Updated:
11/15/2016

Outgoing California Sen. Barbara Boxer introduced a long-shot bill in Congress to abolish the Electoral College---following criticism of the system after Donald Trump won the presidency.

“In my lifetime, I have seen two elections where the winner of the general election did not win the popular vote,” the lifelong Democratic senator said in a statement on her website. She was referring to Trump’s win and Al Gore’s loss to George W. Bush in 2000.

“When all the ballots are counted, Hillary Clinton will have won the popular vote by a margin that could exceed two million votes, and she is on track to have received more votes than any other presidential candidate in history except Barack Obama,” the statement read.

“This is the only office in the land where you can get more votes and still lose the presidency. The Electoral College is an outdated, undemocratic system that does not reflect our modern society, and it needs to change immediately. Every American should be guaranteed that their vote counts.”

The Electoral College, established under Article Two of the United States Constitution, says that U.S. citizens vote in each state at a general election to choose state electors that are pledged to vote for their party’s candidate.

Trump on Tuesday lauded the Electoral College on Twitter, saying that “the Electoral College is actually genius in that it brings all states, including the smaller ones, into play. Campaigning is much different!”

He, meanwhile, noted that if the election was based on the popular vote, he would have won. “If the election were based on total popular vote I would have campaigned in N.Y., Florida, and California and won even bigger and more easily,” Trump tweeted.

Jack Phillips is a breaking news reporter with 15 years experience who started as a local New York City reporter. Having joined The Epoch Times' news team in 2009, Jack was born and raised near Modesto in California's Central Valley. Follow him on X: https://twitter.com/jackphillips5
twitter
Related Topics