Petition demanding abolition of Electoral College nears 500,000 signatures
'Voters living in a ‘red’ or ‘blue’ state are disenfranchised — their vote doesn’t matter,' argues petition
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.A petition calling for the end of the Electoral College voting system in the US has gained nearly half a million signatures.
For the fifth time in history the winner of the popular vote in the US was did not become president, which critics say makes it undemocratic.
As the remaining ballots are counted, Hillary Clinton is on course to have received more votes than any US presidential candidate ever, apart from Barack Obama.
The petition author Michael Baer wrote: “The Electoral College has outlasted its usefulness. It is part of the constitution, written when communication was by pony express.
“Voters currently living and voting in a ‘red’ or ‘blue’ state are disenfranchised, because their vote doesn’t matter.
“Eliminating the electoral college means: no ‘swing’ states getting all the attention and all the campaign stops and all the empty campaign promises.
“The electoral members are selected by the two main political parties, Republican and Democrat, disenfranchising all other voters, independent, Libertarian, etc. End it now.”
Nate Cohn, an election analyst for the New York Times, estimates that once all the votes have been counted, 63.4 million Americans will have voted for Mrs Clinton and 61.2 million for Mr Trump, putting the Democrat ahead by 1.5 per cent.
Another petition on Change.org appealing to the Electors to vote against their states’ wishes and cast their ballots for Ms Clinton has accrued almost five million signatures.
It is one of a range of forms of resistance that are springing up across the US in the wake of the election of the billionaire Republican.
People in cities all across the country have taken to the streets to in objection to Mr Trump taking up the office.
Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments