Gov. Kathy Hochul called for the Electoral College to be abolished despite Donald Trump’s popular vote win — as she presided Tuesday over New York’s vote for Kamala Harris’ doomed candidacy.
The purely procedural Electoral College vote led by Hochul in Albany drew a Who’s Who of Democratic bigwigs, with two glaring exceptions: Bill and Hillary Clinton.
But even without the Clintons’ political star power, Hochul still raised eyebrows as she lambasted the Electoral College’s very existence.
The Constitution — which Hochul referred to as a “living document” — should be changed to eliminate the convoluted system of dispersing 538 presidential votes across the states based on population, the governor argued.
“Unfairly, less populated states have outsized influence and in fact, the votes of their residents count more than a state like New York,” she said, atop the dais in the state Senate chamber.
“Consider that a single elector in Wyoming — no offense to Wyoming — represents 200,000 residents and in New York an elector like you represents 700,000,” she said, digressing to apologize to the Cowboy State, where her favorite NFL quarterback, Buffalo Bills star Josh Allen, played college ball.
Gov. Kathy Hochul called for an end to the electoral college as New York conducted the official vote. Hans Pennink for NY Post
Hochul’s gripes aren’t new for Democrats.
Many Dems whined about the system amid their “resistance” spiral following President Donald Trump’s 2016 victory, in which he won the Electoral College but lost the popular vote.
This year, Trump handily won the Electoral College, with 312 of 538 electoral votes.
And unlike 2016 and 2020, he also won the popular count with more than 2 million votes more than Harris, according to the latest tallies from the Associated Press.
Despite Trump’s popular vote win, many Empire State Democrats — such as Hudson Valley state Senator and Democratic National Committee Chairman hopeful Jim Skoufis (D-Orange) — joined Hochul in taking a principled stand against the Electoral College.
Seven out of 50 states should not decide every presidential election. One person, one vote,” Skoufis wrote on X.
New York GOP spokesperson David Laska, however, wasn’t amused.
“Governor Hochul’s support for abolishing the Electoral College is another radical step in Democrats’ ongoing effort to dismantle any institution that keeps them from power,” he said in a statement.
“The Electoral College ensures that every state has a voice in selecting our nation’s leaders,” Laska added. “It protects against mob rule, balances the interests of rural and urban areas, and preserves the federalist principles on which our nation was founded.”
“In short the electoral college does not contribute to the overriding objectives set forth in our constitution,” Hochul said speaking atop the dais in the state Senate chamber. Hans Pennink for NY Post
Even as Electoral College gripes simmered, the procedural vote still drew a crowd.
Hochul, the top ranking Democrat in the state, presided over the college, which also included other statewide electeds: Lt. Gov. Antonio Delgado, Attorney General Letitia James and state Comptroller Tom DiNapoli.
The Clintons’ absence stood in contrast to their participation in the 2020 vote. The former president’s and presidential also-ran’s Clinton Foundation didn’t respond to a request for comment.
New York City’s Mayor Eric Adams also made the trip to Albany for the vote, but declined to take questions from reporters as the former state senator was led around his old stomping grounds by a cadre of City Hall staffers.
New York’s 28 electors include statewide elected officials and other big wigs like union heads. Hans Pennink for NY Post
New York City Mayor Eric Adams made the trip to Albany Tuesday where he also huddled with Hochul and State Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart Cousins. Hans Pennink for NY Post
And, despite recent accusations he’s cozying up to Trump, Adams’ participation in the ceremonial process largely went off without any public outbursts from his fellow Dems.
Hizzoner was spotted looking at his phone, as were other electors, as each elector proceeded to the front of the Senate chamber to drop their ballots into two locked wooden boxes.
Each state is required by the constitution to gather its electors on the same day to officially send its state’s votes to be certified by Congress in January.
Electors are bound to cast their ballots according to how their state voted in the election, meaning New York’s 28 votes were cast for Kamala Harris and Tim Walz.
