Walz silent on support for eliminating Electoral College after Harris camp says it doesn't back ban

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Vice President Kamala Harris' running mate, Democratic Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, remained silent Thursday on whether he still supports eliminating the Electoral College, after the Harris campaign insisted his position did not reflect that of the campaign's. 

"I think all of us know, the Electoral College needs to go. We need a national popular vote," Walz said during a campaign fundraiser Tuesday at the home of Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom. Walz made similar comments at an earlier fundraiser in Seattle as well.

While running for president in 2019, Harris said she was "open" to the idea of abolishing the Electoral College. However, according to campaign officials pressed on the issue following Walz's remarks, eliminating the Electoral College in favor of a national popular vote is not an official position of Harris' current campaign.

Fox News Digital reached out to representatives for Walz repeatedly to inquire whether he still supports replacing the Electoral College with a national popular vote, particularly after his campaign came out against it. A response was never received, but the Harris-Walz campaign did release a statement to certain news outlets suggesting Walz's remarks were intended to express support for the Electoral College process.

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"Governor Walz believes that every vote matters in the Electoral College and he is honored to be traveling the country and battleground states working to earn support for the Harris-Walz ticket," a Harris campaign spokesperson said in a statement sent to select media outlets like CNN and USA Today. "He was commenting to a crowd of strong supporters about how the campaign is built to win 270 electoral votes. And, he was thanking them for their support that is helping fund those efforts." 

Debate over whether a national popular vote should replace the Electoral College surged in 2016 when Donald Trump won the Electoral College vote, cementing his victory despite losing the popular vote to Hillary Clinton. "I think it needs to be eliminated," Clinton told CNN after her 2016 loss to Trump. "I’d like to see us move beyond it, yes." Clinton made similar calls earlier in her career as well.

Just last month, Democratic Maryland Rep. Jamie Raskin suggested there could be deadly consequences for Americans if the Electoral College was not done away with. Raskin said a national popular vote was a far better option than the current "convoluted, antique, obsolete system from the 18th century, which these days can get you killed as nearly it did on Jan. 6, 2021."

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The Electoral College has been something that both Republicans and Democrats have tried to do away with in the past, but contemporary calls for its abolition surged among Democrats after Clinton's loss. The process was established by the nation's Founding Fathers, seen as a compromise between the election of president by vote in Congress and election by a popular vote of qualified citizens. Electoral College votes, of which 270 are needed for any presidential candidate to win, are allocated based on the Census. The process effectively allows voters in states with lower populations to have a similar impact on the election as those voters living in higher population densities. The Electoral College is also thought to be a protective measure against super thin margins and excessive recounts.

In May 2023, as governor, Walz signed a broad ranging election bill that included a provision to allocate the state's electors based on who receives the most votes nationwide, even if it doesn't match the outcome in their state. The measure, known as the "National Popular Vote Interstate Compact," has been supported by 17 states and the District of Columbia, but will only take effect after all the states that have signed on have a total electoral vote count of 270. Right now, those supporting the reform only have 209, according to CBS News.

Polling from the Pew Research Center released last month showed a majority of Americans favor moving away from the Electoral College. Since 2016, the sentiment has steadily increased, and, according to Pew, more than 6 in 10 Americans today prefer the national popular vote over the Electoral College. 

Jason Snead, executive director of Honest Elections Project Action, a nonprofit that advocates in favor of retaining the Electoral College, argued Walz "said the quiet part out loud" when he insisted the Electoral College should be eliminated. 

"Democrat leaders don't think they should have to campaign in places like Michigan and North Carolina, they want California and New York to decide every election," Snead argued. "There is a pattern here. Democrats claim to love democracy, then set their sights on any institution that stands between them and political power: the Supreme Court, the Senate filibuster, and the Electoral College."

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