States have one elector for each member of Congress. North Carolina has 14 electors, because the state has 12 members of the U.S. House of Representatives and two U.S. senators. Under Lee's legislation, those last two electoral votes would go to whoever won the popular vote in the state. Democrats mostly are pushing to alter the Electoral College, but Republicans may have the most to gain. Polidata, a demographic research firm in Washington, calculated the electoral result if votes were awarded by congressional district winner nationwide.
Democratic votes tend to be concentrated in a comparatively smaller number of urban districts.
Lee said a district-based system would motivate voters who know that, while their candidate may not win the state, he or she might win their congressional district and an electoral vote. No Democrat has won North Carolina since Jimmy Carter in 1976. States that reliably have voted for one party might suddenly get attention from candidates who can win a portion of a state and its electoral votes. One potential consequence of a district plan would be more close votes. Campaigns would be scrutinizing, not 50 state votes, but 435 congressional districts.