Americans have a message for the Founding Fathers: Let's pick presidents by popular vote.

A new Gallup Poll shows a strong majority of Americans -- 62% -- favor getting rid of the Electoral College. And for the first time, Republicans now agree with Democrats and independents that the popular vote should stand.

"Americans show relatively little attachment to this unique invention of the country's Founding Fathers," Gallup's Lydia Saad writes. "Those who advocate abolishing the Electoral College often do so on the basis that the system puts undue emphasis on a small number of swing states."

During the disputed 2000 presidential election between George W. Bush and Al Gore, Gallup found that Democrats overwhelmingly wanted to scrap the Electoral College while Republicans did not.

In a mid-December 2000 poll, Gallup found that 75% of Democrats wanted to amend the Constitution so the candidate who wins the popular vote wins the presidential election. A majority of Republicans (56%) wanted to keep the Electoral College.

Gore won the popular vote in 2000, but Bush won the Electoral College. The Supreme Court ruling in Bush v. Gore cut off recounts in Florida, which cleared the way for Bush's Electoral College victory.

To be elected president, a candidate must win 270 out of 538 Electoral College votes. As always, swing states such as Michigan, Ohio and Pennsylvania will be crucial to the 2012 election.

The non-partisan Cook Political Report estimates 10 states and and 142 electoral votes are a "tossup" or up for grabs by either party in the 2012 election.