Tim Walz calls for elimination of Electoral College at California fundraiser, says ‘it needs to go’

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz on Tuesday called for the elimination of the Electoral College during a fundraiser in California, a move some Democrats have advocated for in the past after election defeats. 

Walz was in California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s private home in Sacramento when he remarked about the process by which U.S. presidents are elected.  

“I think all of us know the Electoral College needs to go,” he said, according to a pool report at the event, Bloomberg reported. “We need a national popular vote, but that’s not the world we live in.”

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In 2023, the Minnesota governor signed the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact, an agreement in which each state would allocate all its electoral votes to whoever wins the popular vote for president, regardless of how individual states voted. The compact would take effect only if supporters secure pledges from states with at least 270 electoral votes. 

Fox News Digital has reached out to the campaigns of Vice President Harris and former President Trump. 

The Electoral College comprises a certain number of electors from each state who cast votes for the president and vice president. In 48 states and Washington, D.C., whichever candidate receives the most ballots in their favor is awarded all the electoral votes for that state. Maine and Nebraska assign their electors using a proportional system.

The winner needs 270 electoral votes to win the presidential election. 

The Electoral College was created by the Founding Fathers in an effort to make sure large states didn’t dominate small ones in presidential elections or wield too much power. Abolishing the system would require a major constitutional change. 

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In recent years, some Democrats have called for eliminating the process in favor of a popular vote. Recent examples cited include former President Trump’s 2016 win over Hillary Clinton, in which she won the popular vote but received fewer electoral votes. 

In 2000, former President George W. Bush lost the popular vote but narrowly won the electoral vote. Many Republicans have argued against getting rid of the Electoral College system, saying such a move would result in states with larger populations having undue influence.

Others argue it would cause presidential candidates to focus on a few states during the campaign season while ignoring others.

In 2012, Trump panned the electoral system, calling it “a disaster for a democracy.” In 2018, he again voiced support for the idea because a popular vote would be “much easier to win.”

A majority of Americans – 63% – favor doing away with the Electoral College, according to a recent Pew Research Center poll released last month.