The legislature's Government Administration and Elections Committee on Friday voted in favor of a bill that would scrap the electoral college system as a method for electing U.S. presidents and rely instead on a national popular vote.
The bill now moves to the full House and Senate. If approved, it would permit Connecticut to join in an agreement with other states to allocate all of their electoral votes to the candidate who receives the majority of the popular vote nationwide.
Supporters said the change would make U.S. elections more democratic.
"This is a pro-democracy bill,'' said state Rep. Andrew Fleischmann, a Democrat from West Hartford. "This is a bill that makes sure the person who gets the most votes on election day...is elected president of the United States.'' Fleischmann said many Americans are surprised to learn that the top popular vote-getter in presidential elections isn't necessarily the winner.
But opponents said a national popular vote is fraught with potential for abuse and perhaps even unconstitutional. In their view, the electoral college, despite its flaws, is worth preserving.
"We're going to change the law that currently gives electors a duty to vote in accordance with the...will of the people of Connecticut and instead we're going to devise some system to manipulate the electors so that they can be directed to vote for someone who gets a bare plurality nationally,'' said state Rep. John Hetherington, a New Canaan Republican. "How is that good either for Connecticut or...for the United States of America?"