Popular vote favored over Electoral College by 2-1

Could your vote come election time mean a little bit more? Most Americans today are favoring the abolishing of the Electoral College, reveals a new Gallup poll, which could usher in the installation of a popular vote system.

The results of the survey released today by Gallup show that 62 percent of Americans currently prefer a popular vote system in electing the presidency, in lieu of the current Electoral College system which awards a given number of votes to the 50 states and District of Columbia in choosing the commander-in-chief. According to the poll, only 35 percent of Americans quizzed are in favor of the current system in place. The survey was conducted earlier this month and inquired 1,005 adults on the matter. Gallup has asked the question before, however, and has never received such a positive response for a popular vote system, which is now favored nearly 2-1. While Democratic opposition to the Electoral College has long existed, this poll marks the first time that a majority of Republicans say that they would prefer a popular vote system. Back in 2000, only around 40 percent of Republicans polled said they wanted a popular vote system; favor from the Democrats is remained above 70 percent throughout the last decade of polling. In all, however, a majority of those polled have said they would like to get rid of the Electoral College as far back as 1967 — at that time, 58 percent were in favor of replacing the system.