Battleground states, the Electoral College, and the National Popular Vote movement
A voter fills out a ballot at Ford Community and Performing Arts Center on the last day of early in-person voting, Sunday, Nov. 3, 2024, in Dearborn, Mich. Michigan is one of seven key battleground states in the 2024 election. AP Photo/David Goldman
Tomorrow is election day. The candidates for president are wrapping up their final campaign stops and pitches to voters.
Democratic nominee Kamala Harris will spend today in Pennsylvania. Meanwhile, Republican nominee Donald Trump will make stops in North Carolina, Pennsylvania and then hold his final rally tonight in Michigan.
If it seems these states have been getting the most attention — along with Arizona, Georgia, and Wisconsin — it is not your imagination. There’s been a movement in recent decades to change the way the U.S. votes. It’s called the National Popular Vote movement and it would circumvent the Electoral College. What would a new way of picking presidents mean for Illinois?
Two experts who have researched the Electoral College along with a Democratic strategist weigh in on this discussion.
GUESTS
Scott Althaus
Director, Cline Center for Advanced Social Research, University of Illinois
Co-author, Battleground: Electoral College Strategies, Execution and Impact in the Modern Era
Tara Ross
Author, Why We Need the Electoral College
Alyssa Cass
Democratic Strategist
National Popular Vote