Experts say Electoral College would be hard to get rid of

U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer has introduced a bill that would abolish the Electoral College. Boxer says if passed it would eliminate the Electoral College and determine the winner of presidential elections by the outcome of the popular vote.

Boxer says the system needs to change because it is “outdated and undemocratic” she believes whoever wins the popular vote should win a presidential election.

Professor Scott Frisch at California State University of Channel Islands says the Electoral College has been around since the constitution and getting rid of it would not be easy.

“A change of the actual constitution that requires typically a two-thirds vote by both champers of congress and ¾ of the states to ratify that change, which is a very high hurdle and rarely done,” said Frisch.

Frisch also said rural states that have small populations would most likely not be behind getting rid of the Electoral College system.

“The one pro that people often point to is it forces candidates who are campaigning for the president to not just focus on the big population centers, so if you are a democrat not just going to New York, California and the big population centers and forget about the rest of the country. So it does force a nationwide campaign,” said Frisch.

There are eight states that only get three electoral votes. California gets the most electoral votes at 55.