Support justice-driven, accurate and transparent news — make a quick donation to Truthout today! 

A new poll demonstrates strong support for amending the U.S. Constitution to abolish the Electoral College and replace it with a popular vote model.

Under the Electoral College — the archaic system of selecting the president of the United States — states are given electoral votes based on how many members of Congress they have. Candidates obtain these votes by winning statewide races, or, in the case of Nebraska and Maine, by winning individual districts.

In most circumstances, the Electoral College selects the same winner a popular vote model would. But a handful of times in U.S. history — including in the 2016 race won by President Donald Trump — the Electoral College has selected a winner who did not win a majority or even a plurality of votes, choosing the second-place candidate instead.

Although other pathways to implementing a popular vote system are being explored, the most lasting and legally sufficient way to enact such a model would be through a constitutional amendment. According to an Economist/YouGov poll published on Tuesday, a majority of Americans are in favor of such an amendment.

The survey found that 56 percent of Americans would approve of an amendment to abolish the Electoral College and replace it with a popular vote system. Only 23 percent of Americans didn’t like the idea, while another 21 percent said they weren’t sure.

Virginia Senate Passes Bill to Join National Popular Vote Interstate Compact

Across the entire 21st century so far, more Americans than not have preferred changing the........

© Truthout