For nearly twenty years, Illinois Law dean and professor Vikram David Amar has been writing about and advocating for a significant reform to the Electoral College known as the National Popular Vote (NPV) interstate-compact plan. 

The plan has gained momentum in recent years, with 15 states and D.C. currently signed on to the agreement. Amar recently wrote a piece for The Atlantic, in which he outlines the foundation of the plan and how it would work.

"The idea is to get the country closer to having a national popular election for president within the current constitutional framework and without the need for a constitutional amendment. Under this system, the Electoral College would still exist, and it would still pick the president. As a constitutional matter, Article II gives each state the power to select its Electoral College members—what the Constitution calls “electors”—by whatever means the state chooses. It is perfectly within a state’s authority to decide that national popularity is the overriding substantive criterion by which a president should be chosen."

Read the full story at theatlantic.com.