	Introduction

Article II Section 1 of the U.S. Constitution, as modified by the 12 th Amendment, provides for an indirect election of the President and Vice President by presidential electors. In order to win, candidates must win a majority of the electoral votes. In 2016, however, for the second time in 16 years, and for the fourth time in the nation's history, a President and Vice President were elected who won a majority of electoral votes, but fewer popular votes than their principal opponents. This outcome occurred because the system requires a majority of electoral votes, rather than of popular votes, to win the presidency. If no candidate receives a majority of electoral votes, then the President is elected by the House of Representatives and the Vice President by the Senate in a process known as contingent election. Why Reform the Electoral College?6

Critics of the electoral college have offered proposals for its reform or replacement since the early days of government under the Constitution. It can, they assert, result in (1) the election of candidates who win the electoral college but receive fewer popular votes than their opponents, an eventuality referred to by reform advocates as "wrong winner" or an electoral college "misfire"; and (2) contingent election in Congress if no candidate wins an electoral college majority. Moving beyond "reform" of the system, the most popular proposal since the late 20 th century has been to eliminate the electoral college system entirely and replace it with direct popular election of the President and Vice President, with either a plurality or majority of the popular vote necessary to win. Since that time, amendments have been introduced to reform or replace it with direct popular election in almost every session of Congress. This decline was reflected by the number of constitutional amendments to reform or abolish the electoral college introduced in the House or Senate during the ensuing three decades. Proposals to reform the electoral college system or adopt direct election declined from 26 in the 96 th Congress (1979-1981) and an average of eight per Congress for the 101 st (1989-1991) through 110 th (2007-2009) Congresses, to none in the 113 th Congress (2013-2015). Electoral College Reform: Proposals in the 114th and 115th Congresses

Following the presidential election of November 8, 2016, proposals to establish direct popular election of the President and Vice President were introduced in Congress for the first time since 2011. The second category would establish direct popular election, and would also enable Congress to provide by law for additional federal authority over a range of election-related issues. Analysis

H.J.Res. Analysis

H.J.Res. 104

This resolution was introduced by Representative Steve Cohen on December 1, 2016. These noted the evolution of democratic government since the Constitution was drafted in 1787; cited constitutional amendments that guarantee universal suffrage and the right to vote; noted the spread of modern information technology that ensures nationwide availability of information on the presidential candidates and the election process; quoted Thomas Jefferson's assertion that "as new truths are discovered and manners and opinions change, with the change of circumstances, institutions must advance also to keep pace with the times.... "; and traced the growth of the right to vote and the development of universal suffrage in the United States. 102 , the Every Vote Counts Amendment, including direct election on a plurality basis, joint tickets, congressional authority over voter qualifications, "times, places, and manner" of holding presidential elections, and instances in which candidates may have died or been disqualified before the election. 115th Congress

Two amendments to establish direct popular election have been introduced to date in the 115 th Congress, both in the House of Representatives. Section 4 would implicitly set a plurality requirement for the popular vote winners. 19 was referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary on January 5, 2017, and to its Subcommittee on the Constitution and Civil Justice on January 11. 65—The 'Every Vote Counts Amendment'

The proposal was introduced on February 7, 2017, by Representative Gene Green, who has been joined by 23 co-sponsors at the time of this writing. They are identified and analyzed in CRS Report R43824, Electoral College Reform: Contemporary Issues for Congress .
American voters elect the President and Vice President of the United States indirectly, through presidential electors chosen by voters in the states—the electoral college. For further information see CRS Report RL32611, The Electoral College: How It Works in Contemporary Presidential Elections. Article II, Section 1 of the U.S. Constitution, as revised by the 12th Amendment in 1804, requires winning candidates for President and Vice President to gain a majority of electoral votes. Since 1804, Presidents who won a majority of electoral votes and at least a plurality of popular votes were elected in 49 of 54 presidential elections. In four elections, however—1876, 1888, 2000, and 2016—candidates were elected with a majority of electoral votes, but fewer popular votes than their principal opponents. In the presidential election of 1824, none of the four major candidates won a majority of electoral votes (or popular votes); the President, therefore, was chosen by contingent election in the House of Representatives. For information on contingent election, see CRS Report R40504, Contingent Election of the President and Vice President by Congress: Perspectives and Contemporary Analysis.
The election of Presidents who won a majority of electoral votes but fewer popular votes than their opponents is sometimes referred to, particularly by reform advocates, as an "electoral college misfire." This is possible because the Constitution requires a majority of electoral votes to elect the President, but it does not require a majority or plurality of popular votes to be elected. Critics of the electoral college have called for its reform or abolition since the earliest days of government under the Constitution. Proponents of reform, especially of direct popular election, claim the built-in potential for so-called misfires is undemocratic and cite it as a principal argument for change. For additional information on electoral college reform, see CRS Report R43824, Electoral College Reform: Contemporary Issues for Congress.
Although reform of the electoral college by constitutional amendment was proposed in Congress through the 1960s, the focus later turned to amendments that would replace it with direct popular election, which proponents claim would ensure that future Presidents received a popular vote majority or plurality. Reform or replacement proposals were once familiar items on the congressional agenda; for instance, 26 amendments were introduced to abolish or reform the electoral college in the 96th Congress (1979-1980). In recent years, however, the number of related constitutional amendments introduced in the House or Senate dropped from an average of eight per Congress for the 101st through 110th Congresses, to none in the 113th Congress (2013-2014). Moreover, none of the measures introduced received consideration beyond committee referral.
Following the 2016 election, however, four constitutional amendments introduced late in the 114th Congress proposed eliminating the electoral college and replacing it with direct election. To date in the 115th Congress, two amendments to establish direct popular election have been introduced: H.J.Res. 19, offered on January 5, 2017, by Representative Steve Cohen, would replace the electoral college with direct popular election of the President and Vice President by plurality vote. It would also authorize Congress to set voter qualifications, times, places, and manner of holding presidential elections, and other election-related policies. H.J.Res. 65, the "Every Vote Counts Amendment," introduced by Representative Gene Green on February 7, 2017, provides for direct popular election by plurality, and also provides Congress with additional authority over related activities. Both resolutions have been referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary and to its Subcommittee on the Constitution and Civil Justice. This report provides an analysis of these measures in the 115th Congress.