Already a subscriber? Make sure to log into your account before viewing this content. You can access your account by hitting the “login” button on the top right corner. Still unable to see the content after signing in? Make sure your card on file is up-to-date.
Vice Presidential Candidate Tim Walz suggested abolishing the Electoral College during fundraising events in Seattle and Sacramento.
Some history before you read: The Electoral College, established by the founding fathers in 1787 as part of the US Constitution, is the system used to elect the President and Vice President of the United States. Instead of picking a winner by a popular vote, the Electoral College assigns a certain number of electoral votes to each state based on its representation in Congress (the sum of its Senators and Representatives). In a presidential election, voters in each state cast their ballots for a slate of electors, who then cast official votes for president and vice president. The candidate who secures a majority of electoral votes (270 out of 538) wins the election. The founding fathers designed this system to balance the influence of more populated states with smaller states.
What Walz said: While speaking to democratic donors in Sacramento, Governor Walz said, “I think all of us know, the Electoral College needs to go. We need a — we need national popular vote. But that’s not the world we live in. So, we need to win Beaver County, Pa. We need to be able to go into York, Pa., and win. We need to be in western Wisconsin and win. We need to be in Reno, Nevada, and win. And the help that you give here today helps make that happen.”
While in Seattle, Governor Walz was also quoted saying, “And we know, because of our system of the Electoral College, that puts a few states in real focus. I’m a national popular vote guy, but that’s not the world we live in.”
Trump campaign criticizes Walz: In a statement, Trump’s campaign said, “Why does Tampon Tim hate the Constitution so much? He hates the First Amendment. He hates the Supreme Court. He hates the Electoral College.”
