National
Senate Democrats have submitted a bill to abolish the Electoral College.
The move comes just as the states and the District of Columbia certified their votes and the respective slates of electors all voted as pledged. The final result mirrors that of the November election: 312 electoral votes for Donald Trump (R-FL) and 226 votes for Kamala Harris (D-CA).
Congress will meet in a joint session to read aloud the results from the states on January 6, 2025.
However, that looming obligation of the federal government is not stalling Democrats’ intentions of repealing one of the most unique electoral systems in the world, one that has accompanied the United States since its founding.
Abolishing the Electoral College would require a constitutional amendment, a monumental political task that has not occurred since 1992 with the ratification of the Twenty-Seventh Amendment.
A constitutional amendment would require a two-thirds majority in both chambers of Congress, a majority that does not exist if a vote is taken strictly along party lines. For context, a two-thirds majority in the Senate is 67 votes out of 100 available, while the same majority in the House would be 290 votes out of 435 Representatives.
Thereafter, three-fourths of the state legislatures must ratify the amendment for it to become part of the U.S. Constitution.
Senators Brian Schatz (D-HI), Dick Durbin (D-IL), and Peter Welch (D-VT), three progressive Senators, believe the amendment would “restore democracy” by removing the indirect aspect of U.S. elections and replacing it with a simple popular-vote method.
“In an election, the person who gets the most votes should win. It’s that simple,” said Schatz. “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 The Electoral College is outdated and it’s undemocratic.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.”
By definition, the U.S. is considered a constitutional republic, but one that is a hybrid system of democratic and republican ideals.
Schatz and company take chagrin at the fact that in the last twenty years, two presidents were elected without winning the popular vote: George W. Bush (R-TX) and Donald Trump (R-NY) in 2016.
In addition to expanding his margin in the College from 306 in 2016 to 312 this year, Donald Trump became the first Republican since 2004 to win the popular vote. He received just over 77 million votes to Harris’ near-75 million.
“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’s time to retire this 18th century invention,” said Durbin, adding that he finds the College “disenfranchises millions of Americans.”
Democrats claim the necessity of the amendment is found in their recent underperformances in key swing states.
“It’s always worth reminding people: It’s really hard for Democrats to win battleground states,” said David Plouffe, a senior adviser to Harris’s presidential campaign, on “Pod Save America,” a progressive podcast produced by Crooked Media. “Let’s look at Pennsylvania: 25% of the electorate is liberal, roughly, 34% is conservative. So, in every battleground state, there’s more conservatives than liberals.”
This is perhaps the boldest call for the abolition of the Electoral College since Hillary Clinton (D-NY) herself called for the country to “move beyond it” in the wake of her stunning loss to Trump in 2016, in which she won the popular vote, but lost the election.
“I think it needs to be eliminated. I’d like to see us move beyond it, yes,” Clinton told CNN’s Anderson Cooper in 2017.
State
A Long Island Senator has recently secured a big legislative win in Albany.
Senator Dean Murray (R-East Patchogue) (pictured below) introduced legislation this year amending the existing “Gio’s Law,” which clarifies that all counties in New York State, outside of New York City, can enact legislation to allow law enforcement officers, firefighters, and EMS personnel to carry and administer epinephrine autoinjectors, otherwise known as EpiPens. The intent of the bill is to curb deaths due to allergic reactions that cannot be halted due to affordability or accessibility of the product.
Murray’s bill was signed by Governor Kathy Hochul (D) last month and was inspired by the Suffolk County version of the bill, sponsored and passed by Legislator Dominick Thorne (R-Patchogue), a former EMS professional of over thirty years.
EpiPens can reverse the effects of an allergic reaction by increasing blood flow and relaxing muscles. “Gio’s Law” was named after Giovanni Cornago, a fourteen-year-old boy from Lynbrook who died from a reaction to a peanut allergy in 2013.
“As we prepare to enter into the holiday season, part of our traditions include feasting with family and friends… but doing so can also increase the chances of food allergy interactions, which can have tragic results,” said Murray in a statement. Murray had submitted the bill in 2023, but concerns of costs became front-and-center in the debate, while supporters of the bill noted that first responders are already allowed to carry and administer Narcan to reverse the effects of an opioid overdose.
The bill was co-sponsored by Senator Julia Salazar (D-Brooklyn).
“Allergic reactions can be extremely dangerous, and seconds count to ensure treatment is administered in time to save a life,” said Governor Hochul. “With the placement of EpiPens in every Suffolk and Nassau County police car, we ensure first responders have the tools and training they need to respond rapidly in an emergency. Thank you to my partners in the Legislature for their advocacy and assistance seeing this through.”
Anaphylaxis claims anywhere from 500 to 1,000 lives annually in the U.S. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) finds that one in three adults and one in four children have at least one allergy, with 6% of U.S. adults and children affected by food allergies.
Meanwhile, Murray has been an advocate, along with the Senate Republican Conference in urging Hochul to, in the upcoming budget, close the loophole in the Internet System for Tracking Over-Prescribing (I-STOP) Prescription Monitoring Program (PMP). The program is intended to prevent “doctor shopping,” wherein patients simultaneously seek care from several practitioners with the intention of receiving additional prescriptions. I-STOP allows providers to access patient prescription histories to potentially curb the activity.
Currently, there is no mandated reporting requirement when a doctor is apparently over-prescribing medication, specifically opiates.
“It seems that New York State Department of Health officials rely on the pharmacies to voluntarily notify them when there may be a problem with a doctor over-prescribing,” said Murray. “Unfortunately, many times this voluntary reporting doesn’t occur right away or in some cases it doesn’t happen at all. This issue needs to be rectified.”
Assemblyman Keith Brown (R-Northport) (pictured below), who has carved out a niche in Albany working on substance abuse disorders and their related problems, agrees with Murray.
“When a doctor is found to be in violation of the I-STOP PMP, he or she should be suspended immediately and the pharmacies notified not to take any prescriptions from these doctors pending a revocation hearing of their license by the State Education Department,” said Brown. “I want to thank Senator Murray for being on top of this issue for many years now and helping to protect New Yorkers from bad doctors who are over prescribing opioids and ruining people’s lives. The Governor can easily fix this at the agency level.”
Murray and Brown penned a letter to Hochul voicing these concerns. They earned the support of Suffolk Senators Mario Mattera (R-St. James), Anthony Palumbo (R-New Suffolk), and Alexis Weik (R-Sayville), as well as Senate Minority Leader Rob Ortt (R-North Tonawanda).
The letter suggests that the Governor include $500,000 of additional funding in the upcoming budget which would fund an additional two Full-Time Equivalents (FTEs) to conduct data analysis and interagency communication; fund two FTEs in the Department of Health Bureau of Narcotics Enforcement for investigators of I-STOP’s PMP tips and complaints; and one FTE in the Department of Education Office of Professions to provide I-STOP interagency investigatory and licensure issue support.
Local
A Long Island Assemblyman has been assigned a leadership role within his conference.
Assemblyman Jarett Gandolfo (R-Sayville) (pictured below) has been appointed Assistant Minority Leader Pro Tempore in the Assembly Minority Conference. The position plays a vital role in floor debate preparations and floor activity management for the conference.
“I am truly honored that Minority Leader Barclay has entrusted me to serve our conference in this new role,” said Gandolfo. “We are at a critical juncture in our state, as more and more New Yorkers are realizing that the status quo just isn’t working. I look forward to advocating for the common sense values of our conference that will make New York a better place for all.”
Gandolfo is set to replace Mary Beth Walsh (R-Ballston), who has been appointed Minority Leader Pro Tempore.
“I am pleased to appoint Assemblyman Jarett Gandolfo as Assistant Minority Leader Pro Tempore,” said Assembly Minority Leader Will Barclay (R-Pulaski) (pictured above). “Jarett’s leadership, dedication and work ethic have earned him the respect of colleagues on both sides of the aisle, and those characteristics will serve him well in this crucial role. His position as second chair enables us to effectively advance our legislative agenda and manage floor activity during session. I’m confident he will be successful in this role and look forward to working alongside him this year.”
