It was fifty years ago today- Thursday February 20, 1969- one month into his presidency- Richard Milhous Nixon asked the US Congress to begin the process of abolishing the Electoral College- that would involve an amendment to the U.S. Constitution to be considered by the states. Not one of Dick’s best ideas. If its not broke- and it wasn’t and isn’t- there is nothing to fix. Nixon’s had a couple ideas-have the amendment take the form of either dividing each state’s electoral votes in a manner that may more closely approximate the popular vote in the state or that the popular vote winner be declared president as long as they have at least 40 percent of the vote. If no candidate got the 40% the top two would face each other in a run-off election. Nixon’s ideas got nowhere of course.
slicethelife 
You think he did that because it was so close in 1960?
and also 1968 was close- in the popular vote- I am sure he had something in mind- concerning himself. He probably had been sitting down with one of his legal pads looking at what a race against Ted Kennedy would look like in ’72…
The man made some fascinating history to read about… I’ll say that much
Hmmm…I heard the rumblings of the same after the 2016 election…and, the 2000 election…
yes we did… i think it would be a difficult thing to get overturned.
I remember reading up on it but, don’t remember specific details. It was put into place for a reason. These days, political shenanigans… We are on the precipice of a total one party system, not just two parties that act similar.
I would love to see the archaic Electoral College abolished. I’m sick of rural, low population states have an oversized voice in national elections, not to mention Republicans winning the Presidency without winning the popular vote.
So let’s let the big population centers decide it? I don’t think the rural low population states have an oversided voice. Al Gore- internet inventor would have won the 2000 election without a sweat had he won the state of WV and its small amount- 5 votes. or even his own home state of tennessee…
I just think the Presidential election should be decided by popular vote.
A lot of people agree with you.
We are a Constitutional Republic, not a Democracy like many would have you believe. The Electoral College was put into place for a reason a very long time ago. Popular vote=Democracy=mob rule.
Also, don’t discount fraud or the power of the elite. Presidents aren’t so much ‘elected’ as they are ‘chosen’.