Claim:
In August 2025, U.S. Senate Democrats introduced a bill to abolish the Electoral College and “restore democracy.”
Rating:
What’s True:
It is true that in December 2024, three Democratic senators introduced a constitutional amendment to remove the Electoral College in favor of direct national elections. They argued that the current system, in place since the nation’s founding, was “outdated and undemocratic.” However …
What’s False:
… the resolution had not moved out of the Judiciary Committee in the Senate as of August 2025. Further, a U.S. constitutional amendment requires two-thirds votes in both the House of Representatives and the Senate, as well as ratification from three-fourths of the states.
In August 2025, a rumor began to circulate that Democrats in the U.S. Senate had introduced a bill to abolish the Electoral College in presidential elections, a system in place since the nation’s founding enshrined in Article 2, Section 1, Clause 3 (archived) of the U.S. Constitution. According to the rumor, the senators said removing it would “restore democracy.”
For example, an Aug. 18, 2025, post on X shared the claim, saying the news was “breaking” (archived):
As of this writing, the post had received nearly 1 million views and 2,700 likes. However, this claim had circulated for months. Snopes found similar posts from December 2024 and January and February 2025, all claiming the news was “breaking.”
There were true and false elements in this claim. While it is true that three Senate Democrats introduced such a piece of legislation, they did so in December 2024. In other words, no new text had been introduced between December 2024 and August 2025. Further, it was a joint resolution for a constitutional amendment, as opposed to a bill (the legislative processes for each differ). Lastly, the legislative proposal had not progressed out of the Senate Committee on the Judiciary, where it was introduced.
On Dec. 16, 2024, Democratic Sens. Brian Schatz of Hawaii, D*ck Durbin of Illinois and Peter Welch of Vermont presented Joint Resolution 121, “A joint resolution proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States to abolish the Electoral College and to provide for the direct election of the President and Vice President of the United States.”
The text of the joint resolution had been sent to the Judiciary Committee four days prior to the announcement. The three senators “introduced a constitutional amendment to abolish the Electoral College system and restore democracy by allowing the direct election of presidents through popular vote alone,” according to a statement posted on Schatz’s website.
The Electoral College, instituted at the foundation of the U.S., is a system in which voters do not directly elect a president. Instead, they vote for “electors” in each state, the number of whom is determined by the size of the population in their respective states. The electors meet to cast their votes a few weeks after the general election has taken place. The candidate who wins the majority of electoral votes wins the election.
This system has created odd situations, for example in 2000 and in 2020, when the presidential candidates who won the popular vote actually lost the election. The system has been criticized for effectively creating a minority rule that runs against democratic ideals.
“In an election, the person who gets the most votes should win. It’s that simple,” the same statement quoted Schatz as saying. “No one’s vote should count for more based on where they live. The Electoral College is outdated and it’s undemocratic. It’s time to end it.”
This was not the first effort of this nature. The statement also quoted Durbin as saying he had attempted to remove the Electoral College once before:
In 2000, before the general election, I introduced a bipartisan resolution to amend the Constitution and abolish the Electoral College. I still believe today that it is time to retire this 18th century invention that disenfranchises millions of Americans. The American people deserve to choose all their leaders, and I am proud to support this effort with Senators Schatz and Welch to empower voters.
However, as of this writing Joint Resolution 121 had not progressed out of the Judiciary Committee. Further, the bar to pass a constitutional amendment is high, as outlined by Article V of the Constitution (archived). The Democratic senators’ legislative text would have to be approved by two-thirds of both the House of Representatives and the Senate, before being approved either by having three-fourths of state legislatures ratify the amendment or obtaining assent from ratifying conventions in three-fourths of the states.
In other words, the likelihood of such an amendment passing was slim as of this writing.
Sources:
“Bills & Resolutions | House.gov.” Www.house.gov, www.house.gov/the-house-explained/the-legislative-process/bills-resolutions. Accessed 20 Aug. 2025.
Bolton, Alexander. “Senate Democrats Push Plan to Abolish Electoral College.” The Hill, 16 Dec. 2024, thehill.com/homenews/senate/5043206-senate-democrats-abolish-electoral-college/. Accessed 20 Aug. 2025.
Lucas, Mike. “Why Do We Have an Electoral College?” Rutgers.edu, 8 Oct. 2024, www.rutgers.edu/news/why-do-we-have-electoral-college. Accessed 20 Aug. 2025.
“Overview of Article v, Amending the Constitution | Constitution Annotated | Congress.gov | Library of Congress.” Congress.gov, constitution.congress.gov/browse/essay/artV-1/ALDE_00000507/. Accessed 20 Aug. 2025.
“Schatz, Durbin, Welch Introduce Constitutional Amendment to End Undemocratic Electoral College | U.S. Senator Brian Schatz of Hawaii.” Senate.gov, Brian Schatz, 16 Dec. 2024, www.schatz.senate.gov/news/press-releases/schatz-durbin-welch-introduce-constitutional-amendment-to-end-undemocratic-electoral-college. Accessed 20 Aug. 2025.
Schatz, Brian. A Joint Resolution Proposing an Amendment to the Constitution of the United States to Abolish the Electoral College and to Provide for the Direct Election of the President and Vice President of the United States. S.J.Res.121, 12 Dec. 2024, www.congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/senate-joint-resolution/121/text. Accessed 20 Aug. 2025.
Schultz, David. “Minority Rights and the Electoral College: What Minority, Whose Rights?” Georgia Law Review, vol. 55, no. 4, Jan. 2021, digitalcommons.law.uga.edu/glr/vol55/iss4/6/. Accessed 20 Aug. 2025.
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