Democratic state lawmakers want Connecticut to join a group of states that has agreed to pool its Electoral College votes for the winner of the popular vote in a presidential election. A state legislative committee heard testimony on bills supporting the move on Wednesday.
The Democrats, including State Senate President Martin Looney of New Haven, argue that Connecticut needs to join the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact. That’s because for the second time in 16 years, a candidate has won the U.S. presidency without winning the popular vote. Looney says there’s voter support for getting rid of the Electoral College.
“A range of national polls shows 70 percent support for a popular vote for president. In Connecticut two recent polls show 73 and 74 percent respectively.”
But Republicans, including Representative Rob Sampson of Wolcott, say a small state like Connecticut might not benefit from such a move.
“Now you are going to have states and parts of the geography of the country receiving attention because they are highly populated areas.”
Most Republicans are backing a bill that endorses the current Electoral College system.
Since 2006, 11 states including Connecticut’s neighbors, New York, Massachusetts and Rhode Island, have signed onto the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact.
