Congressman Cohen Will Introduce Resolution to Abolish the Electoral College

WASHINGTON – Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09), the Chairman of the House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties, will introduce on Monday a joint resolution to amend the Constitution by abolishing the Electoral College. In the past 20 years, the archaic institution has twice awarded the presidency to a candidate who did not win the popular vote, defeating the will of the American people.

Congressman Cohen made the following statement:

“The Americans expect and deserve the winner of the popular vote to win office. More than a century ago, we amended our Constitution to provide for the direct election of U.S. Senators. It is past time to directly elect our President and Vice President. The Electoral College is a vestige of the 18th Century when voters didn’t know the candidates who now appear daily on their television screens. Wednesday’s mayhem at the Capitol shows that efforts can be made to manipulate the Electoral College vote using falsehoods and shenanigans by ambitious politicians. The President should always be elected by the people, not the politicians, and the Electoral College allows politicians to make the ultimate decision. It is well past time to do away with this anachronistic institution and guarantee a fair and accurate vote for President.”

It was during the largely ceremonial certification of the Electoral College vote that a mob invaded the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday at the urging of a president who had lost the popular vote by more than seven million votes.

Congressman Cohen introduced a joint resolution calling for an end to the Electoral College at the beginning of the previous Congress in 2019.