Republican pollster Ed Goeas dismissed Democratic criticisms of the U.S. Electoral College Tuesday, arguing that the presidential voting system protects Americans from a "tyranny of the majority" in which small groups of citizens could have their rights abused by the majority.



“The point is, the founding fathers are very concerned that in the majority, we get too passionate about their controls and too passionate about their interests, ” Goeas said on Hill.TV’s “What America’s Thinking.”

The Electoral College has become a partisan flashpoint after Donald Trump won the 2016 presidential election while receiving millions fewer voters than Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham ClintonButtigieg stands in as Pence for Harris's debate practice Senate GOP sees early Supreme Court vote as political booster shot Poll: 51 percent of voters want to abolish the electoral college MORE.

In the latest The Hill-Harris X poll, 64 percent of voters who picked Clinton favor abolishing the Electoral College, while 61% people who voted for Trump want to keep the system.

“If you looked at vote that just happened in 2016, and you take away the plus vote in California and in New York, Hillary Clinton did not win the majority of the vote,” Goeas said.

While presently Democrats are interested in changing over to a national popular vote system, it's only a matter of time before Republicans become more passionate about it, the pollster added.

“I have been seeing ebbs and flow on this issue. There are Republicans pushing for getting rid of the Electoral College. This time the Democrats are pushing to get rid of it,” Goeas added.

Several Democratic presidential candidates, including Sen. Elizabeth Warren Elizabeth WarrenHarris joins women's voter mobilization event also featuring Pelosi, Gloria Steinem, Jane Fonda Judd Gregg: The Kamala threat — the Californiaization of America GOP set to release controversial Biden report MORE (D-Mass.), Pete Buttigieg Pete ButtigiegButtigieg stands in as Pence for Harris's debate practice Hillicon Valley: FBI, DHS warn that foreign hackers will likely spread disinformation around election results | Social media platforms put muscle into National Voter Registration Day | Trump to meet with Republican state officials on tech liability shield Facebook takes down Chinese network targeting Philippines, Southeast Asia and the US MORE, Sen. Kamala Harris Kamala HarrisButtigieg stands in as Pence for Harris's debate practice First presidential debate to cover coronavirus, Supreme Court Harris joins women's voter mobilization event also featuring Pelosi, Gloria Steinem, Jane Fonda MORE (D-Calif.) and former Rep. Beto O’Rourke (D-Texas), are open to the idea of replacing the Electoral College with popular votes.

Last week, Trump President Trump Donald John TrumpOmar fires back at Trump over rally remarks: 'This is my country' Pelosi: Trump hurrying to fill SCOTUS seat so he can repeal ObamaCare Trump mocks Biden appearance, mask use ahead of first debate MORE tweeted in support of the Electoral College, reversing his previous support for popular votes.

“The brilliance of the Electoral College is that you must go to many States to win,” Trump tweeted, “I used to like the idea of the Popular Vote, but now realize the Electoral College is far better for the U.S.A.”

—Philip Wang