The Nevada Assembly today passed the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact to guarantee that the candidate who wins the most popular votes in all 50 states and the District of Columbia becomes President.

This would be great time to use our convenient system to send emails asking your state legislators to pass the National Popular Vote bill in your state.

The shortcomings of the current system of electing the President stem from existing state laws that award all of a state’s electoral votes to the presidential candidate who receives the most popular votes in the state.

The National Popular Vote Interstate Compact will

The winner-take-all method of awarding electoral votes is not in the U.S. Constitution and was never mentioned at the 1787 Constitutional Convention or in the Federalist Papers.

The Constitution gives the states exclusive control over the choice of method of awarding their electoral votes—thereby giving the states a built-in way to reform the system.  Specifically, Article II, section 1 says, “Each State shall appoint, in such Manner as the Legislature thereof may direct, a Number of Electors….”

A state's winner-take-all law may be changed in the same manner as it was originally enacted, namely by passage of a state law.

The National Popular Vote law will take effect when enacted by states with a majority of the electoral votes (270 of 538). Then, the presidential candidate receiving the most popular votes in all 50 states and DC will get all the electoral votes from all of the enacting states. That is, the candidate receiving the most popular votes nationwide will be guaranteed enough electoral votes to become President.

Under the National Popular Vote law, no voter will have their vote cancelled out at the state-level because their choice differed from majority sentiment in their state. Instead, every voter’s vote will be added directly into the national count for the candidate of their choice. This will ensure that every voter, in every state, will be politically relevant in every presidential election—regardless of where they live.

Fifteen states and the District of Columbia (with 195 electoral votes) have already enacted the National Popular Vote Compact into law. This includes 4 small states (Delaware, Hawaii, Rhode Island, Vermont), 8 medium-sized states (Colorado, Connecticut, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, Washington), 3 big states (California, Illinois, New York), and the District of Columbia.

The National Popular Vote Compact will take effect when passed by states with an additional 75 electoral votes. The Compact has passed one legislative chamber in 9 additional states with another 88 electoral votes (Arkansas, Arizona, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, North Carolina, Nevada, Oklahoma, Virginia).

You can make National Popular Vote a reality. Please send emails to your state legislators.