American voters support abolishing the constitutional Electoral College system of voting in favor of a popular vote, according to a new C-SPAN poll released Thursday.
Under the system those polled want, both Hillary Rodham Clinton and former Vice President Al Gore would have been elected, because they won the popular vote.
The new C-SPAN/Ipsos Poll found that 60% want the centuries-old system of electing presidents with electors killed.
Democrats especially want it ended since two of their candidates lost in the Electoral College to President George W. Bush and President Trump.
The poll asked this question: “Thinking for a moment about the way in which the president is elected in this country, which would you prefer — to amend the Constitution so the candidate who receives the most total votes nationwide wins the election, or to keep the current system, in which a candidate who wins the most votes in the Electoral College wins the election?”
- 66% of Republicans want to keep the Electoral College.
- 84% of Democrats want it killed.
- 60% of independents want it abolished.
The system was a compromise among the Founding Fathers in the 1700s that many feel is outdated.
There have been five elections in which presidents have won the electoral vote but not the popular vote.
