Hillary Clinton calls for abolishing Electoral College after casting electoral vote for Biden
Former U.S. Secretary of State and first lady Hillary Clinton on stage for the "Hillary" press conference during the 70th Berlinale International Film Festival Berlin at Grand Hyatt Hotel on Feb. 25, 2020 in Berlin, Germany. (Photo by Andreas Rentz/G
Hillary Clinton is once again calling for the scrapping of the Electoral College to pick presidents.
The 2016 Democratic presidential nominee and former secretary of state, senator and first lady, made her latest plea after casting an electoral vote for President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris on Monday as electors in all 50 states and the District of Columbia met to formalize Biden’s victory in last month’s election over President Trump.
"I believe we should abolish the Electoral College and select our president by the winner of the popular vote, same as every other office,” Clinton tweeted. “But while it still exists, I was proud to cast my vote in New York for Joe Biden and Kamala Harris.”
Clinton was joined by her husband, former President Bill Clinton, and New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, as part of the Empire State’s 29 electors to cast a vote for Biden.
Four years ago, Clinton topped Trump by nearly 3 million popular votes in the 2016 election, but she was narrowly edged by the then-GOP nominee in a bunch of crucial battleground states, giving Trump a large 306-232 Electoral College victory over Clinton. Four years later, Biden topped Trump by the same Electoral College count.
After Clinton’s 2016 defeat, there was a chorus of calls among many Democrats to scrap the electoral vote process and let the national popular vote determine presidential election winners.
But Clinton’s calling for the abolishment of the Electoral College dates back to then-Texas Gov. George W. Bush’s 2000 victory over then-Vice President Al Gore, the previous time a popular vote winner lost the Electoral College count.