A majority of Americans support transitioning away from the Electoral College system in favor of a national popular vote, according to a new poll.
An NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll released Monday finds that 53% of those surveyed said they support electing presidents by popular vote as opposed to 43% of respondents who said they prefer sticking with the Electoral College.
The results are largely based on political partisanship, though. Of those who voted for Hillary Clinton during the 2016 presidential election, 78% support ending the Electoral College, while 74% of those who voted for President Trump say they want to keep the system in place.
During that election, Trump beat Clinton by winning the Electoral College despite losing the national popular vote to Clinton.
[Opinion: What you need to know about abolishing the Electoral College]
The current system distributes its 538 votes by state. The winner of the popular vote in individual states generally determines which candidate gets the vote of all the state’s electors, making it possible for a candidate to win the electoral vote without winning the popular vote. Candidates must get at least 270 votes to win the election.
Some of the 2020 candidates vying to take on Trump in the upcoming election have announced that they support scrapping the system. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., said in March that she supports ending the Electoral College.
Trump used to support ending the system, calling it a “disaster for democracy,” but announced that he changed his mind on the matter in March, noting that it gives states in the Midwest and elsewhere more of a say than just the big population hubs.
