United States House Joint Resolution 36

FairVote strongly supports House Joint Resolution 36, a proposed constitutional Amendment that would establish direct presidential elections by majority vote in the United States. Introduced by Representative Jesse Jackson Jr. (D-IL), the bill provides not only for direct election but also requires a candidate to win a majority of all votes cast, a position supported by FairVote to ensure that winners have a genuine mandate. The bill is in the House Judiciary Committee’s subcommittee on the Constitution. We encourage reformers to contact their representatives in Congress and encourage them to support HJR 36.  To view the full text of the bill, click here.

On May 12th Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) introduced a direct election amendment, HJR 50. As with a number of other proposals currently floating through Congress (HJR 8/SJR 11 and HJR 17) this bill would not require a candidate to win a majority of the popular vote. FairVote opposes these bills because they would enshrine plurality rules, not majority rules, into the Constitution. We urge their backers to either support Rep. Jackson’s HJR 36 or at least modify their bills to allow Congress to establish by statute whether a president needs to be elected by a majority or plurality vote.

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Louisiana Senate Resolution 25

On May 19, the Louisiana State Senate passed a resolution advocating that Congress abolish the Electoral College.  The bill passed with a 29-vote majority and garnered support from both Democrats and Republicans.A safe “red” state, Louisiana hardly benefits from the Electoral College. Safe states are routinely ignored by presidential campaigns, which pour resources and attention on battleground states – large and small.  We encourage individuals and legislators in their own states to support similar initiatives.  To view the full text of the resolution, click here.




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