{
  "id": 19209871,
  "title": "Electoral College on the chopping block: Democrats now have the power to end it. Will they?",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/09/electoral-college-on-the-chopping-block-democrats-now-have-the-power",
  "topic": "business",
  "section": "Business",
  "published": "2026-11-09T20:00:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Fast Company",
    "slug": "fast-company",
    "url": "https://www.fastcompany.com/91637404/electoral-college-on-chopping-block-democrats-now-have-power-to-end-it-will-they"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "In the wake of the Democratic victories during the recent midterm elections, the possibility of abolishing the Electoral College is gaining traction. The Electoral College system, initially designed to grant smaller states a voice in presidential elections, has led to instances where the popular vote loser becomes president, most recently in 2016. To address this issue, some states have been working towards the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact, an agreement that would ensure the candidate with the most popular votes also wins the presidency. Since 2006, this two-decade-long effort has gained momentum, with five states flipping blue in the midterms and potentially ending the Electoral College as early as the 2028 election.\n\nFor the compact to take effect, laws to join it must be enacted by states whose combined electoral votes are enough to secure a presidential election. The five newly blue states—Michigan, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, and Nevada—now have Democratic trifectas, controlling both chambers of their state legislatures and their governorships. If all five states were to join the compact, they would surpass the 270 electoral votes needed to win the presidency, guaranteeing that the popular vote winner would become president.\n\nHowever, the compact would not technically abolish the Electoral College, as that would require amending the Constitution. Instead, it requires participating states to pledge their electoral votes to the candidate with the most popular votes, which could face legal challenges. Even if the compact is enacted in all five states, it may still need congressional approval under the Compact Clause of the Constitution and could be subject to a presidential veto or a possible Supreme Court case. Despite support for the popular vote decision among American adults, with 63% favoring it as of 2024, some key states have previously blocked measures to join the compact, citing concerns about the impact on smaller states in national electoral contests.",
  "summary": "Amid the excitement of the blue wave’s flashier victories in last week’s midterm elections— Blexas, Bliowa, and Blansas, anyone? —Democrats also quietly set themselves up for one of the biggest potential changes in the history of American politics: ending the Electoral College. The Electoral College system was designed to ensure small states aren’t passed over by presidential campaigns, but in…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}