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Hi,
Twice in the last six presidential elections, the candidate who lost the popular vote won the White House — and it very nearly happened again in 2004 and 2020.1
But we can fix this senseless, undemocratic Electoral College system through the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact, a legal agreement among the states to award their electoral votes to the winner of the national popular vote.
The state of Maine just became the 17th state to join the interstate compact, and legislation is already moving forward in the Michigan legislature to join as well.2,3 Michigan would bring the total number of electoral votes held by states that have joined the compact to 224, achingly close to the magic number of 270.4
Demand Progress Action has advocated for the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact for years. We must act now to keep the momentum going and prevent the next Electoral College meltdown.
Make no mistake: This is a nonpartisan effort. It's not about helping one party or another win. It's about democracy.
It's true that the most recent Electoral College debacle was in 2016, when Donald Trump won the presidency despite getting nearly 3 million fewer votes nationwide. But in 2004, George W. Bush came within 118,601 votes in Ohio of losing to John Kerry while winning the popular vote, and that would have been equally irrational and undemocratic.5
The most important reason to adopt the national popular vote is to honor the principle of "one person, one vote." In our current system, only the votes of people who live in a few select battleground states make any real difference in the outcome.
If you happen to live in a reliably blue state like California or a deep red state like Texas, then your vote effectively makes no difference whatsoever. And as a result, presidential candidates don't pay any attention to most states and have no reason to consider their local concerns.
Demand Progress Action has mobilized tens of thousands of people to call for this change, and with another Electoral College meltdown looming in 2024, we're seeing a tremendous increase in political momentum for change.
With gratitude for all that you do,
The team at Demand Progress Action
Sources:
1. The New York Times, "The Electoral College Explained," January 5, 2021.
2. Democracy Docket, "Maine Legislature Passes Bill To Join National Popular Vote Interstate Compact," March 5, 2024.
3. Michigan Legislature, "House Bill 4156 of 2023," accessed April 26, 2024.
4. National Popular Vote, "Status of National Popular Vote Bill in Each State," accessed April 26, 2024.
5. CNN, "Election Results," November 2, 2004.
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