Anti-Trump Democrat Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD) has called for the Electoral College to be abolished, blasting the process as an “undemocratic relic” of the U.S. Constitution.
Raskin’s calls come amid a report claiming he and his fellow members of the January 6 House Select Committee are having private disagreements about what actions to take or propose after they wrap up work.
One area of contention is abolishing the Electoral College.
Raskin said: “I’ve taken the position that the Electoral College is an undemocratic relic of the early Constitution, just like the state legislature selection of U.S. senators, which is something we got rid of, in 1913, with the 17th Amendment, just like the exclusion of women from voting, which we got rid of in 1920 with the 19th Amendment.
“We do still have what I think we have some obsolescent political institutions in the country and certainly some obsolescent political practices.
“Those are things I think we need to address whether it’s in this context or another context,” Raskin said.
WATCH:
This comes after a new report from Axios that claimed some on the committee want to propose abolishing the electoral college.
However, they don’t have anywhere near the votes to make something like this happen.
From Axios:
The committee’s legacy depends in large part on what reforms it pursues after those hearings to prevent another Jan. 6 from happening — and that’s where the united front breaks down.
The big picture: Disagreements arise whenever proposals are raised such as abolishing the Electoral College, vastly expanding voting rights like same-day registration or tightening the Insurrection Act to make it harder for a president to deploy the military domestically for use on civilians.
Behind the scenes: Nobody on the House select committee is more committed than Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) to pursuing Trump for inciting the attack on the Capitol.
But she flatly opposes some of the more sweeping election law reforms backed by several committee Democrats.
The broadest differences are between Cheney and Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), according to three sources familiar with the committee’s private discussions.
The two have a warm personal relationship but fundamentally disagree on what needs to be done to reform America’s election laws.
Raskin, a former constitutional law scholar, is by far the committee’s most outspoken member during its private discussions about voting rights.
“Liz is much more conservative, as far as what kinds of changes she wants to see done,” said a source with direct knowledge of their conversations.
