Democrats hold forum on future of Electoral College

WASHINGTON — With Hillary Clinton winning the popular vote but losing the 2016 presidential election, there has been a lot of attention on the Electoral College and its relevancy in modern-day politics.

Channel 2’s Justin Gray talked with some Democratic members of Congress on Tuesday who want to get rid of it.

Democrats can’t hold hearings on Capitol Hill on the subject, because Republicans hold the majority of the House.

Instead, they held a forum Tuesday to look at the future of the Electoral College.

Rep. Steve Cohen, D–Tennessee, has introduced a constitutional amendment to replace the Electoral College.

“This doesn’t fit the country any longer,” Cohen told Gray. “It’s a difficult process. Nobody who draws a constitution makes it easy to amend because they like their work.

Ten states and the District of Columbia have signed on to something called the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact. It’s an agreement to award their Electoral College votes to the winner of the national popular vote.

If a majority signed on, it could give the presidency in futures to the winner of the popular vote without changing the constitution.

But critics, including many congressional Republicans, say eliminating the Electoral College would give too much influence to just a few communities.

“The election would be decided by the big urban areas,” Rep. Louie Gohmert, R-Texas, told Gray.

Georgia Rep. Hank Johnson contends it would do just the opposite.

“If you do away with that Electoral College system, they understand that it's a 50-state situation at that point and they've got to go everywhere,” Johnson said.

It's a change that would require support from both Democrats and Republicans, which is unlikely.

The forum consisted of all Democrats. No Republican members of Congress participated.

Cox Media Group