the Electoral College, but the additional 29 delegates awarded to the popular-vote winner would fundamentally alter the focus of the campaigns. Candidates would have to target voters in states they have no chance of winning, as well as in states they have no chance of losing.

One of the primary criticisms of the Electoral College is that it puts outsize importance on the horserace aspect of the election in the battleground states even as voters in the majority of the country tune out. If Israel’s amendment were to become law, voters in deeply blue and -red states would still have to participate in the election to secure the popular-vote prize for their candidate.

Most analysts believe the 2012 election will be decided by fewer than 29 Electoral College votes.

The timingof the resolution from Israel, the head of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, is curious since there is increasing speculation that for the fifth time in history, the 2012 presidential election could result in a split between the popular vote and Electoral College decision. And in this case, most of the speculation has been that President Obama might win the Electoral College while losing the popular vote.

According to the RealClearPolitics average of polls, Mitt Romney has 47.9 percent support nationally over President Obama at 47. But the Obama campaign has consistently touted its “wider path to victory” through the Electoral College, and the president appears to have a small lead in the handful of battleground states whose Electoral College votes will determine the outcome of the election.

Several U.S.