Most in U.S. would scrap Electoral College

PRINCETON, N.J., Oct. 24 (UPI) -- Most Americans say they would amend the Constitution to swap the Electoral College with a popular-vote system to elect the president, a poll indicates.

Sixty-two percent of Americans prefer replacing the Electoral College and 35 percent would keep the current method for electing presidents, results from a Gallup poll released Monday indicated.

For the first time since the disputed 2000 presidential election, the majority of Republicans said they favor amending the Constitution, the Princeton, N.J., polling agency said.

That year, Democrat Al Gore won the national popular vote but Republican George W. Bush wound up with more electoral votes and was elected.

Those who advocate abolishing the Electoral College said they thought the system puts undue emphasis on a small number of swing states, Gallup said. Americans generally agree that the United States should adopt a system in which the popular vote prevails.

Results are based on nationwide telephone interviews with 1,005 adults conducted Oct. 6-9. The margin of error is 4 percentage points.