The 2024 US election is open to vote “distortion”, according to political commentator Jesse Wegman, who is demanding a major revamp to how the process is carried out.
The Electoral College system means winning the popular vote in the presidential election may not be enough to gain access to the White House.
According to Wegman, Americans “hate” the system and there is now momentum behind the campaign for change.
“Most Americans hate the Electoral College and polling has shown that”, he said.
Jesse Wegman wants a transition to a new system
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“Today, more Democrats will say they don’t like it. The Democrat have lost twice because of the Electoral College when they should have won.
“I think it’s this essential instinct towards the majority rule, the idea that the person who gets the most votes should win, is driving American sentiment in that direction.”
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In order to get to the White House, a candidate must reach at least 270 out of the 538 electoral votes which are distributed to the states according to population.
Most states have imposed winner-takes-all systems, which means that a candidate could win the most votes across the country but lose the Electoral College.
This would be possible by running up the numbers in some states and losing by smaller margins in others.
The vastly different size of some states has also resulted in some getting more representation in the Electoral College than their population may justify.
US voters will have their say before it is ratified by the Electoral College
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Jesse Wegman joined Jacob Rees-Mogg on GB News America
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This has led to some branding the process undemocratic, despite certain positives such as keeping smaller states relevant in national politics.
According to Wegman, the Electoral College’s enshrinement in the Constitution makes changing the system extremely difficult.
“It’s very hard to amend the Constitution”, he said.
“It has only been done 27 times, and ten of those count as the Bill of Rights, which were essentially part of the original Constitution.
“It’s only been done really 17 times in American history and not for the last 50 or so years.
“You need two thirds of both houses of Congress to pass an amendment and then you need three quarters of the states, which is 38 right now to agree to it.
“You can see why that’s such a high hurdle today in a polarised country like America.
“Getting 38 states to agree to anything is hard.”