Colorado became the latest state to try and do away with the Electoral College system.
On Election Day, Coloradans passed Proposition 113 by a narrow margin, signing the state up for the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact. The agreement, which has already passed in a handful of states nationwide, calls for states to award their electoral votes to the winner of the popular vote, making the Electoral College less meaningful if states cast their Electoral College votes strictly on the outcome of the popular vote nationwide.
Fifteen states and the District of Columbia have joined the pack, totaling 196 Electoral College votes. The states are California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Washington.
However, the states do not currently abide by this compact because the agreement will not take effect until enough states agree to it that their Electoral College votes reach or exceed 270 — the number of Electoral College votes needed to secure the presidency.
Democrats would likely benefit from the end of the Electoral College. In six of the seven previous presidential elections, the Democratic candidate has won the popular vote, even though two of those elections, 2000 and 2016, resulted in the Republican candidate winning the Electoral College. Presumptive President-elect Joe Biden is currently leading the popular vote by nearly 4.9 million votes, according to the Associated Press.
Republicans argue that eliminating the Electoral College will be an added emphasis on candidates campaigning in high density populations, like cities, which overwhelmingly lean Democrat, while casting rural voters aside.
