Top Democrat Raskin Demands Overhauling the Electoral College

In an interview with CBS News’ Face the Nation on Monday, Democrat Rep. Jamie Raskin Maryland’s Electoral College “a danger not just to democracy, but to the American people,” Appelling for a complete overhaul of the institution

“The institutions held,” Raskin. “they did hold just barely. The truth is that we need to continually be renovating and improving our institutions.”

Raskin explained that “I think the Electoral College now, which has given us five popular vote losers as president in our history, twice in this century alone, has become a danger not just to democracy, but to the American people.” 

“It was a danger on January 6th, there are so many curving byways and nooks and crannies in the Electoral College, that there are opportunities for a lot of strategic mischief.”

The January 6 Committee Another member suggested that the president be elected “the way we elect governors, senators, mayors, representatives, everybody else, whoever gets the most votes wins.”

Margaret Brennan, the host, asked Raskin if he believed reforming the Electoral Count Act would resolve the problem. Raskin replied, “it doesn’t solve the fundamental problem.”

“I’m for that, and that’s the very least we can do and we must do. It’s necessary, but it’s not remotely sufficient. You know, we spend hundreds of millions of dollars every year exporting American democracy to other countries, and the one thing they never come back to us with is the idea that, ‘oh, that Electoral College that you have, that’s so great, we think we will adopt that too.'”

Raskin spoke of Thomas Jefferson and the founding fathers. She said that Raskin “deplored the sanctimonious reverence which some people look upon the original handiwork by the framers, when they should be looking at it.”

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