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View of Electoral College splits on partisan lines

Our Staff
May 06 2019

A clear majority of Americans would do away with the Electoral College, the latest NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll finds, but predictably the idea of relying on the popular vote to decide the presidency is much more popular with Democrats than Republicans.

Overall, 53 percent would ditch the Electoral College and 43 percent would keep it. But an overwhelming 78 percent of Hillary Clinton voters and 79 percent of Democrats would use the popular vote and an equally lopsided 74 percent of both Trump voters and Republicans would keep things as they are. (Remember that she won 3 million more votes in 2016 but he secured the presidency with a 74-electoral-vote margin.)

Among independents, it's a statistical tie given the poll's margin of error: 44 percent support the current system, 49 percent back a switch.

The view of the Electoral College also varied significantly based on where people live. Rural residents, who in general have more power under the current system, favored keeping it by 6 points. But city dwellers, whose power is somewhat diluted by the Electoral College, favored getting rid of it by 23 points.

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