Shortly after the 2000 Presidential election, efforts to reform the Electoral College process were proposed in 21 states, propelled by the momentum from the second election in American history in which the losing candidate received more popular votes.

Just as the electoral system remained the same in 1877, outrage in 2001 did not translate to change. All 21 bills were withdrawn, died in committee or otherwise defeated.

“There just wasn’t a lot of support for this in most states,” said Larry J. Sabato, professor of politics at the University of Virginia. “The status quo always has an advantage and our system was designed to slow down change.”

However, efforts are once again underway to push initiatives through statehouses nationwide that, while not literally putting the vote in the hands of the American people, would get it a bit closer.

In late February, National Popular Vote launched a bi-partisan nationwide initiative to introduce and pass bills in all 50 states that would award electoral votes to the winner of the national popular vote. Under the plan, the states would also enter an interstate compact that the new system won’t take effect until states representing 270 electoral votes – the number necessary to secure a majority – have joined.

Because the U.S. Constitution essentially leaves the method of selecting the president and vice president to the individual states, this new proposal relies on that flexibility.

“The proposed new state law would change the Electoral College from an institution that reflects the voters’ state-by-state choices or district-wide choices into a body that reflects the voters’ nationwide choice,” said former U.S. Rep. John Buchanan, R-Ala. “That is, the states would exercise the Constitution’s built-in flexibility to change the procedure by which the presidential electors in the Electoral College are chosen.”

Illinois lawmakers are the first to take on the issue during this year’s legislative session. A bill, S.B. 2724, was introduced in late January to some support from both parties. It awaits action in the state senate’s Rules Committee.

“I salute them [National Popular Vote] because this is plan is ingenious,” Sabato said. “It had never occurred to me to approach it from that angle. I was fascinated by their proposal. Having said that, I don’t think it will ever come to be.”

Sabato believes the inertia in Electoral College reform is so great that it would be very difficult to get states with 270 electoral votes to ever pass the necessary legislation. In addition, he said, support for the current system at the “elite level” makes reform next to impossible.

Despite the inertia and the perceived comfort with the status quo, the groups involved with the National Popular Vote project, including Fair Vote and Common Cause, believe they are on the right track.

“I think the reason I’m optimistic about this effort is that the American people have been very clear in their support for a direct election, to the tune of about two-to-one,” said Chris Pearson with Fair Vote. “Unlike efforts in the past that have been state-based, this is the first effort that ties all the states together.”