{"articles":[{"id":2864,"title":"Lawsuits Challenge Electoral College","html_content":"

What’s the story?

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A coalition of law firms, politicians, and the League of United Latin American Citizens has filed lawsuits claiming the \"winner-take-all\" Electoral College system violates the Constitution.

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Why does it matter?

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In 2016, Donald Trump won the Electoral College vote while Hillary Clinton won the popular vote by nearly 3 million ballots.

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South Carolina Democrats, who joined the legal challenge, wrote in their suit:

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\"Trump received 54.94 percent of the vote in South Carolina, yet he received every single electoral vote from South Carolina. Likewise, Secretary Hillary Clinton received 40.67 percent of the vote in South Carolina, but received none of the electoral votes from South Carolina.\"
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The lawsuits argue that the Electoral College system denies citizens their constitutional right to an equal vote. Lawyer David Boies, who’s leading the coalition, said in a statement:

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\"Under the winner-take-all system, U.S. citizens have been denied their constitutional right to an equal vote in Presidential elections. This is a clear violation of the principle of one person, one vote.\"
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The suits were filed in the reliably red states of South Carolina and Texas and solidly blue states of California and Massachusetts.

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What do you think?

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Is it time to revisit the Electoral College? Is the \"winner-take-all\" system unconstitutional? Should all states adopt Maine and Nebraska’s “proportional representation” which splits electors between candidates? Hit Take Action and tell you reps, then share your thoughts below.

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—Josh Herman

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Related Reading

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(Photo Credit: Electric_Crayon / iStock)

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Electoral College has long outlived its usefulness in our elections. Recent elections in 2000 and especially 2016, which benefited the GOP are prime examples. I personally know of no one in favor of the Electoral College. ","parent_type":"Article","parent_id":2864,"created_at":"2018-02-24T17:10:58.245Z","liked":false,"like_count":17,"links":{"self":"https://www.countable.us/comments/416455","likers":"https://www.countable.us/api/v1/likers?likeable_id=416455&likeable_type=Comment"},"article_id":2864,"shareable_image_url":"https://n.countable.us/share-images/comments/416455.png","note":{},"note_text":false,"note_color":false,"user_id":"49VBLAk9","liker_ids":["YmqOzkWB","49V0dnDZ","BmyjvEz9","8mr0JPYW","eWMywQ3W","kW3RbD69","kW32K6z9","1Zxnp7l9","Lm40oYbm","49V2Jga9","A9GqjnkZ","kW3bqR29","jW2ovXJZ","8mrnDdMm","A9GM66oZ","BWY0nYq9"]}}

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