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| Sen Barbara |
Retiring
Democratic Senator Barbara Boxer, who was an outspoken supporter of Hillary
Clinton during the 2016 election, is set to introduce a Senate bill that aims
to end the Electoral College.
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Boxer announced in a statement on Tuesday that
the bill, which she planned to introduce later Tuesday afternoon, would
determine the winner of presidential elections by the outcome of the popular vote.
She cited President-elect Donald Trump’s victory in the Electoral
College despite Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton’s apparent popular vote
advantage
“In my lifetime, I have seen two elections where the winner of the
general election did not win the popular vote,” Boxer said in a statement. “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Electoral College is an outdated, undemocratic system that does not reflect our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.”
“In 2012, Donald Trump tweeted, ‘The electoral college is a
disaster for a democracy,’ ” Boxer added. “I couldn’t agree more. One person,
one vote!”
According to election results as of Tuesday, Clinton won
61,329,657 votes and Trump won 60,530,867.
This is the fifth time in history that a nominee has won the
popular vote but not the Electoral College. The same situation happened to Al
Gore in 2000, when he lost to George W. Bush.
The actual likelihood of Boxer’s bill passing is low. It’s a
proposed constitutional amendment, which would require passage not only by
two-thirds majorities in the House and Senate, but then in three-quarters of
states. A lame duck session and a Republican Congress will make it difficult to
get such a bill through the legislative branch.
On Tuesday, Trump praised the Electoral College after previously
criticizing the system. He said he could have won the popular vote if he
campaigned differently.
Trump tweeted he would have won the populous states of Florida,
New York and California if he had spent more time campaigning there.
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