NEW YORK, June 16 (UPI) -- Lawmakers in several states are pushing a plan designed to thwart the Electoral College and give the U.S. presidency to the candidate who wins the popular vote.
Proponents of the plan, known as the National Popular Vote proposal, are pushing the establishment of a binding compact among states that would oblige them to give their electoral votes to the winner of the popular vote, The Christian Science Monitor reported Friday.
Amending the U.S. Constitution to abolish the Electoral College would likely be opposed by both small and battleground states, the Monitor said. So, reformers are looking to the possibility of an interstate compact entered into by states representing 270 electoral votes.
The move is supported by electoral reform activists and a bipartisan advisory group that includes former U.S. Rep. John Anderson, R-Ill., and former U.S. Sen. Birch Bayh, D-Ind.
The proposal passed the California Assembly last month with all but one Republican opposing it. Colorado's Senate approved the plan in April, and it has been introduced in several other states, the Monitor reported.
Historically, there have been 700 failed attempts in Congress to change the Electoral College system, the newspaper said.
