Hillary Clinton Casts Electoral Votes For New York But Demands Electoral College Be Abolished
Former 2016 Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton and former president Bill Clinton cast two Electoral College votes for New York on Monday — and while at it, called for abolishing the process despite participating in it.
The Clintons, who are now based in New York, voted for Democratic nominee Joe Biden. Despite her enthusiasm to be able to cast the vote for her party’s nominee, however, the former Secretary of State explained that she hasn’t changed her position against the Electoral College.
The former presidential candidate, who faced off incumbent Republican President Donald Trump, maintained that the 538-member Electoral College is not legitimate and should be abolished after she failed to clinch the Electoral College votes in 2016 despite winning the popular vote.
“I believe we should abolish the Electoral College and select our president by the winner of the popular vote, same as every other office,” Clinton said as she posted a photo of herself giving a thumbs-up.
I believe we should abolish the Electoral College and select our president by the winner of the popular vote, same as every other office.
But while it still exists, I was proud to cast my vote in New York for Joe Biden and Kamala Harris. pic.twitter.com/th9qebu9ka
— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) December 14, 2020
She added, though, that “while it still exists, I was proud to cast my vote in New York for Joe Biden and Kamala Harris.”
Clinton, who famously lost to President Trump in 2016, has consistently claimed that Russia colluded with the Trump campaign and caused her loss in 2016. She said back then that if 2016 had been a “popular vote” election she would have easily taken the White House.
But while she lost against the incumbent Republican president, former VP Biden looks to secure both wins — pending the results of the multiple legal challenges brought by the Trump campaign in key battleground states — amid reports of massive election irregularities.
This would make it more difficult for Democrats to support efforts to eliminate the Electoral College, created to give smaller, less populous states a larger say in choosing the President compared to purely doing so based on population.
Efforts to abolish the Electoral College would also require a Constitutional amendment.
Fox News earlier reported that Clinton’s call to remove the Electoral College dates back to the time that then-Texas Gov. George W. Bush’ won against then-Vice President Al Gore through Electoral College votes despite losing the popular vote.
Meanwhile, Clinton is reportedly being eyed for the UN Ambassador position under the Biden-Harris administration despite her role in the 2011 attacks on a US consulate in Benghazi, Libya and her support for the Obama administration’s Iran nuclear deal.