WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — "The reason for this shift in opinion is clear: In the aftermath of this year's election, the percentage of Republicans wanting to replace the Electoral College with the popular vote has fallen significantly," a release explaining the poll stated on Friday.
The poll results were nevertheless surprising given that surveys following past presidential elections showed a consistent majority wanting the United States to choose its president by direct popular vote.
Forty-seven percent of those polled by Gallup following the latest election said they wanted to keep the Electoral College while 49 percent said they wanted the president chosen directly by voters.
"This year, for the first time in the 49 years Gallup has asked about it, less than half of Americans want to replace the Electoral College with a popular vote system," the release noted.
Americans do not actually vote for president when they cast ballots. By choosing a particular candidate, they are actually voting for a slate of people chosen by the candidates’ respective political parties.
Support for an amendment to spike the Electoral College and shift to a popular vote system peaked at 80 percent in 1968, after Richard Nixon almost lost the popular vote while winning the Electoral College.
Ultimately, Nixon wound up winning both by a narrow margin, but that election demonstrated the possibility of a candidate becoming president without winning the popular vote. Ever since, talk of eliminating the Electoral College has become an enduring feature of post-election political chatter.
When George W. Bush won the Electoral College in 2004 while Al Gore won the popular vote, support for a constitutional amendment hovered around 60 percent, the poll explained.
Currently, 19 percent of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents favor basing the winner on the popular vote, down from 49 percent in 2004 and 54 percent in 2011, the poll revealed.
