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Democrats Have a Path to Sidestep the Electoral College

November 8, 2026 · 6:13 am ET · Leave a Comment

“Twice since 2000 — with George W. Bush and then Donald J. Trump — Republicans have lost the national popular vote but won the Electoral College. That has left many Democrats furious with the system,” the New York Times reports.

“Eliminating the Electoral College would require a constitutional amendment, a highly unlikely prospect in a polarized nation. But after Tuesday’s midterm elections, Democrats will soon have enough power in statehouses across the country to try to circumvent it without an amendment.”

“Since 2007, 18 Democratic-run states and the District of Columbia have joined a legal framework that would pledge their Electoral College votes to the nationwide popular vote winner, rather than the winner in their state. The effect of the pact, if enacted and enforced, would be the same as replacing the Electoral College with the popular vote.”

Democracy, State House

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Taegan Goddard

Taegan Goddard

Taegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire -- which for more than two decades has been one of the nation's most influential political news sites.

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The starting map is built from how each state has voted compared with the country as a whole, not from how a state voted on its own. The last two presidential elections, with 2024 counting more than 2020. Then we…

Updated Nov. 4, 2026

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