Bernie Sanders: It’s Time To Rethink The Electoral College (VIDEO)

Bernie Sanders called for a reassessment of the Electoral College Sunday in a CNN interview. The Vermont senator joins a host of other voices questioning the validity and fairness of the Electoral College. Speaking with CNN’s Dana Bash, Sanders said:

“We have one candidate who had two million more votes than the other candidate but she is not going to be sworn in as president. And I think on the surface that’s a little bit weird.”

Hillary Clinton, Sanders’ opponent during the Democratic primary, won the popular vote in this month’s presidential election. Clinton now has 2 million more popular votes than her Republican opponent, Donald Trump. But due to the arcane Electoral College system, Trump will be sworn in as the 45th U.S. President in January.

Can The System Be Fixed?

Instead of voting directly for their candidates, citizens actually vote for their state’s representative (or elector) in the Electoral College. Changing the presidential election system requires a constitutional amendment, and is therefore unlikely to change any time soon.

This is the second time this century that the winner of the electoral college system will become president without winning the popular vote. Back in 2000, George W. Bush won the electoral vote, but his Democratic rival Al Gore won the popular vote. And, as is the case this year, the close race and apparent miscarriage of justice fueled anger and resentment among Democrats.

Counting The Recounts

In another striking parallel with the 2000 election, this year’s election results have inspired a recount. The Green Party – with Clinton’s support – has moved ahead with a recount in Wisconsin. Sanders expressed his approval of the process.

“The Green Party has the legal right. Republicans have requested — I think the governor of North Carolina right now is thinking about doing a recount. That’s a legal right. They do it.”

Democrats Need New Leadership

Sanders also voiced support for Keith Ellison (D- Mn.), who is in the running for leadership of the Democratic National Committee. Ellison is the first Muslim elected to Congress and a leader in the Congressional Progressive Caucus.

“In the last eight years, the Democrats have lost over 900 legislative seats around the country in state legislatures, I think it’s time to take a reassessment of the purpose of where the Democratic Party is and where it wants to go. What we need to do right now is to become a grassroots party, which is what Keith Ellison believes, open the doors to working people, open the doors to young people, less emphasis on raising large sums of money, more emphasis on bringing new blood into the political party.”

Watch Sanders discuss the electoral system below:

Featured image by Gage Skidmore under a Creative Commons ShareAlike 2.0 Generic license.