The Electoral College: There IS an Alternative!
By Arlene Versaw
The Electoral College has been a topic of controversy for decades. Most Americans
believe our President should be elected by popular vote; others contend our Founders
were correct when they conceived of the concept of the electoral college. Five U.S.
Presidents have taken office without winning a plurality of the popular vote: John Q.
Adams, Benjamin Harrison, Rutherford B Hayes, George W. Bush and Donald Trump.
But the question is whether there is an alternative. According to Villages resident and
political expert Rich Robinson, there is, and he explained it all to attendees at a
Democratic Club presentation on April 18 at Foothill Center.
The National Popular Vote Compact, introduced in 2006, is an agreement between a
group of states and the District of Columbia to award all of their electoral votes to the
candidate that wins the overall popular vote. The idea is to ensure that the candidate
who receives the most votes nationwide is elected president. To date, 17 states and the
District of Columbia, representing 209 electoral votes have signed on and many more
are considering legislation to join the effort.
Robinson has served in all levels of government and has worked in national presidential
campaigns, including those of Joe Biden, Barack Obama, Alan Cranston and John
Kerry, and was Northern California Director for Bill Clinton for President. He’s also been
a delegate to the 1984 and 2004 National Democratic Conventions.