National Popular Vote v Electoral College

In a recent Clear the Air column, Robert Sulnick devoted lengthy paragraphs deploring the effects on U.S. presidential elections of its Electoral College requirements.

In 2010, I spent an entire TV Santa Barbara program excoriating then-governor Arnold Schwarzenneger for twice vetoing the wishes of both California legislative houses to have the state join the National Popular Vote compact, the only viable alternative to have the U.S. president and vice-president elected by majority national vote.

Casting about for a solution for the 2020 presidential election to ensure the defeat of Donald Trump, Sulnick has concluded: Don’t dare vote for a third party candidate. Polls have shown, he tells us, that if no one had supported Green Party candidate Jill Stein, Hillary Clinton would be our president.