How does the current electoral system work?
Currently, each state gets a certain number of electors in the Electoral College (equal to the sum of that state's seats in the Senate and House). All but two states (Maine and Nebraska) award their electoral votes to the winner of the state-wide popular vote. Maine and Nebraska have slightly different plans that in practice have almost always worked the same. The person with more electoral votes wins.
What's the SAFE Plan do?
The idea behind the new plan is to take the source of the major inequalities of the current system--the two electoral votes each state gets regardless of its size representative of their seats in the Senate--and to award it to the candidate who wins more total votes. This takes the source of the problems and uses it to ensure the outcome represents the wishes of the majority of people.
The above diagram shows how the current electoral system works (inside the tan box)
and how the proposed system would alter the current system (in the blue area).
Click for enlarged diagram.
