Electoral College...Or Popular Vote?

Entrepreneur and philanthropist Tom Golisano has announced a "National Popular Vote" campaign designed to eliminate the presidential Electoral College and replace it with a popular direct vote.

Golisano, the founder and chairman of Paychex, the second largest payroll processor in the United States, founded the B. Thomas Golisano foundation in 1985, which has donated tens of millions of dollars to charitable causes over the last 26 years.

He recently sold the Buffalo Sabres.

The National Popular Vote plan would work within the Electoral College framework to ensure the presidency goes to the winner of the most popular votes in all 50 states and DC.

The bill will go into effect when states representing 270 electoral votes have passed the legislation.

The National Popular Vote bill has already been signed into law in jurisdictions representing 27% of the necessary votes for the bill to go into effect (Hawaii, Washington state, Illinois, Massachusetts, New Jersey, the District of Columbia, and Maryland).

Golisano said: "I wanted to take a leadership role in this campaign because I believe that every vote should count equally.

"The president we choose represents this entire nation, and we should all count when making that choice. Our presidential election should truly be democratic," the Republican said.

"We have a system where two-thirds of states are essentially ignored by presidential candidates. Please join me and 75% of Americans in supporting the National Popular Vote bill because it's the right thing to do."

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