Nearly Half of All Americans Want to Get Rid of Electoral College: Poll

Disputed results from the 2020 US presidential election have caused some observers to suggest abandoning the Electoral College system to choose a president. Instead, some want to use the popular vote and give the candidate that receives the highest number of votes the victory.

US President Donald Trump has baselessly alleged that widespread voter fraud allowed Democrat President-elect Joe Biden to "steal" the election. Trump's legal team filed lawsuits in some battleground states which Biden won, asking that the electors in those states be recalled and replaced with electors who would vote for Trump, Newsweek reported.

According to the poll, 46 percent of Americans are ready to "amend the Constitution so the candidate who receives the most total votes nationwide wins the election." However, 34 percent of those polled have no desire to change the system, indicating that the Electoral College should remain operable. Those who weren't sure whether the Electoral College should stay or go numbered 20 percent.

Individuals that voted for Biden made up 75 percent of poll participants that indicated the Electoral College should go by the wayside while only 14 percent of those who voted for Trump agreed.

Biden won both the popular and electoral vote during the 2020 election. While Trump received 74,223,744 popular votes and 232 electoral votes, Biden obtained 81,283,485 popular votes and 306 electoral votes. A candidate needs to receive 270 or more electoral votes in order to move forward in the election process. All 50 states have already certified their election results.

Getting rid of the Electoral College would require an amendment to the US Constitution. After any Constitutional amendment is proposed by two-thirds of both the House and the Senate, it must be ratified by 38 out of the 50 states to become effective.

Despite Biden's victory, Trump's legal team continued to attempt to overturn the election results in some states, including Pennsylvania. On Monday, Trump's personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani filed a lawsuit with the US Supreme Court to rescind Biden's win in Pennsylvania.

"The petition seeks all appropriate remedies, including vacating the appointment of electors committed to Joseph Biden and allowing the Pennsylvania General Assembly to select their replacements," Giuliani said in a Sunday statement. Trump's campaign asked for the Supreme Court for "expedited consideration" so that responses to the lawsuit are received by Thursday. Congress is expected to officially count the electoral votes in January.

The Supreme Court previously declined to hear two other lawsuits challenging Biden's presidential victory.

Some GOP lawmakers have continued to back Trump's claims of voter fraud. In December, Alabama Representative Mo Brooks said he would challenge the electoral vote in Congress. Brooks will need another lawmaker to support his actions. In order for a challenge to the electoral votes to occur, one member of the House of Representatives and one member of the US Senate must submit a written objection before the votes are read aloud during the Congressional count.

If a challenge is issued, the joint session of Congress is placed into recess while both the House and the Senate discuss the objection. After the recess, both chambers announce their decisions. If the objection is agreed to, the challenged votes remain uncounted. If either side disagrees with the objection, the votes remain in the final tally.