[Phantom Lord]

Could someone with better research skills than me to some searching and find out how many articles calling for the elimination of the electoral college were published in major news outlets from say 1870 to 1999?

[mwl1]

one crude measure of frequency is after every presidential election that is close, particularly those that the RATS lose... like 1968 and 2000.

Ironically, one of the best summaries for the rationale and preservation of the Electoral College was written by the late Theodore White, the author of the Making of the President Series, and who was a Kennedy Democrat. His prose in the Making of the President - 1960 points out that the Constitutional founders of our nation were most astute to preserve a presidential election based on a union of state-specific decisions, so that elections did not degenerate into corrupt and raw head-counting.

[cinFLA]

I haven't researched but I remember how they were writing in the fall of 2000 about how the electoral college was important (at that time Gore was down in the popular vote polls but up in the EC statistics).

[cinFLA]

(Harrisinteractive)

Highlights of the Presidential Race

Among the states in Harris Interactive’s October poll, Al Gore holds a 262 to 122 Electoral College advantage over George Bush. Overall, including best estimates for states not in the Harris Interactive poll, it is estimated that Gore holds a 317 to 221 advantage over Bush, with 270 needed to win. According to Harris Interactive analysts, it is important to recognize that Gore’s advantage is based on very narrow leads in a few large states:

Florida (25 Electoral College votes), Gore leads by 49% to 43% in October, down from 52% to 43% in September. Missouri (11), Gore leads by just 48% to 44%. New Jersey (15), Gore leads by 48% to 40%, down from 58% to 34% in September.

Ohio (21), Gore leads by just 48% to 45%, down slightly from 49% to 44%. Washington (11), Gore leads by just one point (45% to 44%). Small shifts in these states can decisively change the Electoral College equation. The presidential election is truly either candidate’s to win at this point. The possibility should not be discounted that one candidate, more likely Gore because of the concentration of his support in larger states, might win an Electoral College majority while the other, more likely Bush, could win a plurality of the popular vote.