Sen. Nelson: Abolish electoral college

The St. Petersburg Times blog The Buzz reports that Florida Sen. Bill Nelson (D) is reviving his long-time crusade to abolish the Electoral College, which was fanned to a high flame after Al Gore's loss in 2000:

As the Congress was ratifying the results of the Electoral College today, U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., was filing legislation to abolish it.

Scratching a long-time itch, Nelson filed a bill seeking a constitutional amendment to do away with the college, which chooses the U.S. president based on vote tallies within individual states [...]

It's only been a few times in our history, most recently in the 2000 election, that the candidate who lost the popular vote won the Electoral College and became president, but that shouldn't be allowed to happen again," Nelson said. "We need to honor the concept of one person, one vote."

The Buzz notes that "Prospects for the measure, which would need ratification of two-thirds of the U.S. states, are dim."

But the group National Popular Vote points out that there's widespread support for abolishing the Electoral College. 22 legislative chambers have passed bills endorsing the move, including the Arkansas House and North Carolina Senate, both in 2007. Over 1,200 state legislators have sponsored or supported such bills.

Most important, they say, is a Washington Post poll showing 72% of the public supports a popular vote instead of the Electoral College -- with strong support even in small states that would lose clout.