Contact Congress for Electoral College Reform TODAY!
Special thanks to Project Vote Smart, Michael Moore, and the Center for Voting and Democracy

Are you disturbed by the fact that we might have a President who has won the electoral college vote, but lost the popular vote -- OUR vote?

Before this election, our representatives introduced a bi-partisan bill in both the House (H.J. Res. 113) and the Senate (S.J. Res. 56) to amend the Constitution to replace the electoral college with the direct election of the President and Vice President. Both bills are currently in committee.

Click the following links for more information.

  • What's wrong with the electoral college?
  • What can I do?
  • Who do I contact?

What's wrong with the electoral college?

The electoral college is an antiquated institution that has outlived its purpose:1

  • The advances in communication technologies since the 18th century render moot the concerns that citizens do not have enough information to make an informed decision about a President.
  • The winner-take-all aspect in each State motivates presidential candidates to focus on States with a moderate or large number of electoral votes, assuming the candidates believe they have a chance to win the popular vote there. Less populous States with only a few electoral votes are largely ignored.
  • States that are heavily leaning toward one of the presidential candidates are similarly ignored.
  • The 17th amendment to the Constitution was ratified in 1913 and provided for the direct popular election of U.S. Senators. Before that, Senators were chosen by State legislatures.
  • More at the Center for Voting and Democracy.

What can I do?

If you want to make sure that a Presidential candidate must win the popular vote (OUR vote) before s/he can take office, I urge you to contact your representatives today. Also contact the chairperson of both of these committees. And if any members of the committees are from your state, contact them as well. It may take you 10-15 minutes to do so, but your small contribution will be effective in reforming our antiquated electoral process.

Contacting your officials is easy. Phone calls are the most effective method, but you also can send email, letters, or faxes.2 Not sure what to say on the phone? Read Michael Moore's suggestions or try this:

Hello, I'm a constituent of Senator Blah [or Representative Blah]. I'm calling to ask the Senator [or Representative] to support Resolution 56 [or 113], which is currently in the Judiciary Committee. It's the bill that calls for a constitutional amendment to replace the electoral college with the direct election of the President and Vice President. I also want the bill to institute instant run-off voting in Presidential elections.

The staff member will likely take your name and address. And you will have spoken.

You also can use online tools like congress.org to send email or prepare a letter to print and send to your representatives.

Who do I contact?

Contact the following people:

  1. Your Senators and Representatives. Enter your ZIP code at Vote Smart to see a list of your representatives. Click on each name to see their phone numbers and addresses.

  2. The following chairpeople of the House and Senate committees. When you call them, leave off the "I'm a constituent of Senator Blah [or Representative Blah]" part if you don't live in their states.
  3. Any of the following committee members from your state:

1U.S. Senator Dick Durbin, Press Release, The Electoral College
2Michael Moore, How to Contact Your Elected Officials