Supreme Court Case Could Change The Electoral College Forever
A Supreme Court case that should get a ruling this summer could drastically change the way the Electoral College elects US Presidents. Now before you start composing an angry email to your member of Congress, this is not a case that would abolish the Electoral College. It would just decide the constitutional obligation of delegates and the way they vote. The question here is: "do all electors have to vote the way the majority of voters in a state voted?
By current guidelines, if a presidential candidate gets 50% plus one vote, he or she wins that state. Delegates from about 30 different states are required to cast their votes for that winning candidate. However, most other electors follow the state's lead anyway.
In the almost 4 years since President Trump was elected, the mere existence of the Electoral College has been under scrutiny. Candidate Hillary Clinton won the popular vote by roughly 2.8 million votes. However, Trump won the electoral vote by 77. An even closer margin of popular votes elected President George W. Bush in the 2000 election.
Advocates for the change say it would prevent razor-thin margins in which a candidate could become President. Arguments are set to being in April with a ruling expected in June.
This explainer from TED-Ed may be the most concise I've ever see. Go ahead take five or so minutes and learn something.