The National Popular Vote bill would guarantee the Presidency to the candidate who receives the most popular votes in all 50 states and the District of Columbia.
The bill has been enacted by 16 jurisdictions possessing 196 electoral votes, including 5 small jurisdictions (DC, DE, HI, RI, VT), 8 medium-sized states (CO, CT, MD, MA, NJ, NM, OR, WA), and 3 big states (CA, IL, NY).
The bill will take effect when enacted by states with just 74 more electoral votes.
The bill has passed at least one legislative chamber in 8 states with 75 electoral votes (AR, AZ, ME, MI, MN, NC, NV, OK). 3,408 state legislators have endorsed the bill.
The shortcomings of the current system stem from
state “winner-take-all” laws that
award all of a state’s electoral votes to the candidate receiving the most popular votes in each state.
These state winner-take-all laws have enabled 5 of our 45 Presidents to come into office without
winning the most popular votes nationwide, including two of the last three.
Moreover, because of these state winner-take-all laws, presidential candidates ignore three-quarters of the states in the general-election campaign.
In 2012, all of the general-election campaign events (and virtually all campaign expenditures) were concentrated in the 12 states where Romney’s support was between 45% and 51%. Two-thirds of the events were in four states (OH, FL, VA, IA). Thirty-eight states were ignored, including 12 of the 13 smallest states and almost all rural, agricultural, Southern, Western, and Northeastern states.
Similarly, in 2016, virtually all campaign events (94%) were in the 12 states where Trump’s support was between 43% and 51%. Two-thirds of the events (273 of 399) were in just 6 states (OH, FL, VA, NC, PA, MI). A similar pattern prevailed in 2000, 2004, 2008, and is expected in 2020.
The U.S. Constitution (Article II) gives states exclusive control over awarding their electoral votes: “Each State shall appoint, in such Manner as the Legislature thereof may direct, a Number of Electors….”
The winner-take-all method of awarding electoral votes is not in the U.S. Constitution. It was not debated at the 1787 Constitutional Convention. It was not mentioned in the Federalist Papers. It was used by only three states in the first presidential election in 1789 (and all three repealed it by 1800).
The National Popular Vote interstate compact will go into effect when enacted by states with a majority of the presidential electors—that is, 270 of 538. After the compact comes into effect, every voter in all 50 states and DC will acquire a direct vote in the choice of
all of the presidential electors from
all of the states that enacted the compact. The presidential candidate supported by the most voters in all 50 states and DC will thereby
win a majority of the presidential electors in the Electoral College (at least 270), and therefore become President.
Under the current state-by-state winner-take-all system, the individual voter's vote counts only toward the choice of the limited number of presidential electors from their own state (9 of the 538 in the case of Colorado). Under National Popular Vote, every voter in all 50 states and DC will have a direct vote in choosing 270 (or more) presidential electors. Everyone's vote will count directly toward their choice for President.
The National Popular Vote compact would make every person’s vote equal throughout the U.S. It would ensure that every vote, in every state, will matter in every presidential election.