Democrats' Post-Midterm Push to Nullify the Electoral College Is Part of a Destabilizing Power Grab That Should Be Resisted
Source: "JONATHAN TURLEY: Midterms put the Electoral College in Democrats’ sights | Fox News." November 7, 2026. www.foxnews.com
The Gist
Turley argues that after their midterm win, Democrats are using their new state-level power to bypass the Electoral College as part of a larger plan to lock in power, including packing the Supreme Court and adding states. He once criticized the Electoral College and admits most Americans favor a popular vote, but he now says that changing it as part of this broader package would destabilize the country and undercut protections for small states.
Conclusion
Democrats' post-midterm effort to nullify the Electoral College through the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact is not a legitimate or timely reform. It is part of a broader direct-democracy and power-consolidation agenda that threatens the constitutional system and should be resisted.
Premises
- The GOP's midterm losses (about 46 seats) are modest and historically typical compared with losses under FDR, Obama, Truman, and Clinton, so the Democrats' win is a fleeting, predictable shift, and they are moving now to lock in power rather than wait.
- Democratic academics, pundits, and politicians have openly discussed a package of radical changes: killing the filibuster, adding states such as DC and Puerto Rico, packing the Supreme Court, and negating the Electoral College.
- Newly won Democratic governorships and one-party control in states like Michigan, Nevada, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin put Democrats in a position to bring enough states into the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact to effectively nullify the Electoral College.
- The Framers designed the Electoral College to protect small states and political minorities from being overwhelmed by high-population states and to force presidents to take their interests seriously.
- The push to eliminate the College is part of a wider direct-democracy movement (including calls to eliminate the Senate, the Supreme Court, and the presidency) that risks destabilizing the constitutional order, which reaffirms the Framers' judgment that the College is an important limitation.
- The compact's constitutionality is untested and, according to commentators cited, would likely require congressional approval.
Assumptions
- Democrats' motive is to entrench power for years, not to pursue good-faith electoral fairness.
- Statements by academics, pundits, and activists (Klarman, Carville, DSA) represent the actual agenda of elected Democrats.
- The Electoral College's original small-state and minority-protection rationale still functions and is valuable today.
- The timing of a reform and its bundling with other changes are relevant to whether the reform is legitimate.
- The risks of direct-democratic reform outweigh the problem of presidents winning the electoral vote while losing the popular vote.
- Guilt by association with the most radical proposals fairly characterizes the Electoral College reform effort.