Election renews debate over Electoral College vs. popular vote

Laura Anthony Image
ByLaura Anthony KGO logo
Tuesday, November 15, 2016
Debate on Electoral College, popular vote continues
This presidential election is sparking renewed debate about whether the Electoral College should be eliminated. Much of that has come here in California which voted overwhelmingly for Hillary Clinton.

WALNUT CREEK, Calif. -- This presidential election is sparking renewed debate about whether the Electoral College should be eliminated. Much of that has come here in California which voted overwhelmingly for Hillary Clinton.

"Look, I won because of the Electoral College," said President-elect Donald Trump.

Trump rode the Electoral College to the White House; however on "60 Minutes" he said it's time to let the popular vote decide future presidential elections.

Lafayette's Barry Fadem has been working on getting rid of the Electoral College for more than a decade, and even wrote a book on it. He says his website, nationalpopularvote.org, has been busier than ever.

"In the last presidential campaign, the majority of the campaign was conducted in 12 states so if you do the math that's 38 states that saw no evidence of a presidential campaign," said Fadem. "No TV ads, no discussion about issues important to a state like California."

The National Popular Vote Bill, already passed by 11 states, would guarantee the presidency to the candidate who received the most popular votes in all 50 states and the District of Colombia.

When asked if the Electoral College would have changed the election outcome, Jon Cordova, the California communications director for the Trump campaign, responded: "No, absolutely not. It would've just changed the election strategy."

Fadem's effort isn't the only one. There is also a petition on Change.org asking the members of the Electoral College to vote for their candidate of choice when they cast their ballots in December. So far it has 4 million signatures.