LOS ANGELES (CNS) - Retiring Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., introduced a bill today that would scrap the Electoral College and determine the winner of presidential elections by the outcome of the popular vote.
Despite President-elect Donald Trump's victory in the Electoral College, Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton currently leads the popular vote by nearly 1 million votes.
"In my lifetime, I have seen two elections where the winner of the general election did not win the popular vote," Boxer said. "The Electoral College is an outdated, undemocratic system that does not reflect our modern society, and it needs to change immediately. Every American should be guaranteed that their vote counts."
Boxer's legislation would amend the Constitution of the United States to abolish the Electoral College. The long-shot amendment would take effect only if ratified by three-fourths of the states within seven years after its passage by Congress.
"In 2012, Donald Trump tweeted, `The electoral college is a disaster for a democracy,'" Boxer said. "I couldn't agree more. One person, one vote!"
According to current results, Clinton has 61,329,657 votes and Trump has 60,530,867. It is the fifth time in history that a nominee has won the popular vote but not the Electoral College.
The same happened to Al Gore in 2000, when he lost to George W. Bush.
California voters on Tuesday elected Boxer's successor, the state's first new U.S. senator in 24 years. State Attorney General Kamala Harris will be the first black politician in history to represent California in the Senate.
