If we were to agree to keep an electoral college, but with reforms...

[The Mikado]

How about every state has a top-two runoff if no one hits 50 in it? If a candidate gets 50% of the vote, they automatically get all the electors, if not, they hold a runoff election the first week of December in that state. States that voted 50%+ for a candidate just don't vote again during the second round. Runoffs are skipped if one candidate secures 270+ in the first round.

EDIT: In 2016, that would've produced this:

Trump 198
Clinton 183
To Be Determined in Runoff 157

[The Mikado]

How about every state has a top-two runoff if no one hits 50 in it? If a candidate gets 50% of the vote, they automatically get all the electors, if not, they hold a runoff election the first week of December in that state. States that voted 50%+ for a candidate just don't vote again during the second round. Runoffs are skipped if one candidate secures 270+ in the first round.

EDIT: In 2016, that would've produced this:

Trump 198
Clinton 183
To Be Determined in Runoff 157

Does anyone want a whole nother month of campaigning? Do the runoff the next week.

Plenty of situations where we don't know whether a candidate got 49.8% or 50.1% in a state by a week out. It'd be hard to tell if there needs to be a runoff in certain states.

A year in which the Dems end up getting really, really close to 50% in Colorado, for example, would take a while while mail-in ballots come in.