Pete Buttigieg wants to scrap the system that gives small states and rural Americans a voice in picking the president, and he says it should count as a “normal” fix.
Quick Take
- Pete Buttigieg has repeatedly called for ending the Electoral College, calling it “undemocratic.”
- He also wants to add justices to the Supreme Court, a plan often called “court packing.”
- He renewed the call at a May 2026 town hall in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
- Florida Governor Ron DeSantis publicly pushed back on the proposal.
- Ending the Electoral College would require a constitutional amendment, a very high bar.
Buttigieg’s Long-Standing Push to Scrap the Electoral College
Pete Buttigieg, the former Transportation Secretary and possible 2028 candidate, has pushed to get rid of the Electoral College for years. Back in 2019, during his run for president, he told NBC News, “Twice in my young lifetime I’ve seen the American people overruled by the Electoral College. It’s time for that to go because it’s undemocratic”.
Buttigieg has argued that a straight national popular vote, where “one person, one vote, counting equally,” would be fairer than the current system. He has admitted this change would need a constitutional amendment, telling reporters in March 2019 it “wouldn’t be easy to do overnight” but insisting it was worth pursuing.
From South Bend to Tulsa: A Consistent Message
This is not a one-time comment. Buttigieg brought up the same idea again at a town hall in Tulsa, Oklahoma, in May 2026. He told the crowd, “The candidate who receives the most votes should be President of the United States,” calling a national popular vote a “really good idea”. Seven years apart, his message has not changed.
His campaign platform in 2019 also listed ending the Electoral College alongside statehood for Puerto Rico and same-day voter registration as part of a plan to “strengthen American democracy.” He called these his top priority as president, according to a Business Insider profile from that year.
Bundled With Plans to Pack the Supreme Court
Buttigieg has not stopped at the Electoral College. He has also pushed to add seats to the Supreme Court, a move critics call court packing. Fox News reported in 2019 that Buttigieg “highlighted his push to add justices to the Supreme Court and scrap the Electoral College” during a New Hampshire campaign stop. Pairing these two ideas together raises the stakes for conservatives who see both as attacks on the constitutional balance of power.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis responded directly to these proposals in 2026, criticizing Buttigieg for pushing to “eliminate the Electoral College” and “pack” the Supreme Court in the same breath. The pushback shows how seriously Republican leaders are taking the idea, even as Democrats frame it as routine reform.
Podcast Summary | The Diary Of A CEO with Steven Bartlett: Secretary Pete Buttigieg: The American Dream Is DEAD. We're Running Out Of Time To Fix It!
Overview
Pete Buttigieg argues that the American dream is statistically dying, with economic growth failing to reach ordinary…
— Podcast Quickie (@podcast_quickie) August 3, 2026
Why Conservatives See a Threat to the Constitution
The Electoral College was built into the Constitution to stop big cities and a handful of large states from deciding every election. Without it, states like Indiana, Oklahoma, and Ohio would lose almost all say in choosing a president, while votes would be decided by turnout in a few massive urban centers. That is exactly the outcome Buttigieg says he wants.
Historian Jill Lepore has noted that Electoral College reform is “the most frequently proposed amendment” in American history, tracing the idea back to 1803. That history shows the debate is not new, but it also shows how rarely such amendments actually pass, since they need approval from three-fourths of the states, many of which benefit from the current system.
Buttigieg frames his plan as fairness. But scrapping the Electoral College would hand permanent advantage to coastal population centers and weaken the voice of rural and heartland voters who already feel ignored by Washington. Combined with a push to expand the Supreme Court, the proposal looks less like a neutral fix and more like a plan to reshape American government to favor one party’s long-term interests.
Sources:
youtube.com, thehill.com, floridianpress.com, breitbart.com, foxnews.com, brookings.edu
