Sen. Bernie Sanders on Thursday expressed support for abolishing the Electoral College, arguing it is difficult to justify a system that allows a candidate to become president after losing the popular vote by a large margin.
Today @BernieSanders announced he supports abolishing the electoral college pic.twitter.com/TVF5QaCVtD — People for Bernie (@People4Bernie) July 12, 2019.
By backing growing calls to eliminate the Electoral College, Sanders joined several of his 2020 presidential rivals, including Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.
), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), and South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg.
According to recent polling data, most Americans support replacing the Electoral College with a national popular vote system.
A Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI) survey published last July found that, "By roughly a two-to-one margin, Americans say they would prefer if presidential elections were decided by the national popular vote as opposed to the Electoral College.".
"Nearly two-thirds (65 percent) of Americans believe that presidential elections should be decided based on the national popular vote," PRRI's poll showed, "while about one-third (32 percent) believe they should be decided through the Electoral College. »
