A plurality of voters want the Electoral College to stick with Donald Trump

John King explains the Electoral College

(Image credit: CNN/YouTube)

last updated 19 December 2016

As members of the Electoral College meet in their respective states Monday, a new Politico/Morning Consult poll finds that a 46 percent plurality of voters say the electors should be bound to vote for the candidate who won their state, which would give Donald Trump a 306-232 victory over Hillary Clinton; 34 percent said that electors should vote for another candidate if they have significant concerns, and the other 20 percent were undecided. The poll split along partisan lines, with more Democrats supporting elector choice and more Republicans favoring sticking with whomever won the state.

There was a similar partisan split when it came to the question of scrapping the Electoral College, only this time, a 46 percent plurality of all voters contacted favored amending the Constitution to replace the Electoral College with a popular vote for president, while 40 percent wanted to keep the Electoral College intact. Coincidentally, 46 percent is also the amount of the popular vote Trump won, versus 48.1 percent for Clinton. Morning Consult reached 2,000 voters Dec. 15-17, and the poll has a 2 percentage point margin of error.

If you are undecided, you can watch CNN's John King explain the Electoral College and its rationale below. Peter Weber

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.