National Popular Vote
Overview
Nov 06 2008
Voters in many states dream of the day when their vote for president will count just as much as those of voters in the handful of battleground states such as Florida and Ohio. Now, with the closeness of the 2008 presidential primary and the proportional delegate allocation rules that most state parties followed in the Democratic primaries, voters are getting a taste of what it would mean if every vote did matter – the result being record-breaking turnout numbers.
If every vote counted in the November presidential elections, we could expect similar broad-based gains in voter turnout. Voters are well aware of whether or not their votes count, and this is evidenced in polls that show wide, bi-partisan support of approximately 70% for a national popular vote.
Studies emphasize that not only does the traditional Electoral College lead to elections narrowly focusing on a few states, but that the problem is in fact getting worse.One result is that critical issues for non-swing states are given less focus in national debate. An example is the civil rights movement, where the historic shift away from heavily African-American swing states has paralleled the narrowing discussion of civil rights in campaigns and the national dialogue.
The campaign to make every vote count in presidential general elections is focused on passing an interstate compact where states agree to apportion their presidential electors to the winner of the national popular vote (NPV). The compact will become effective when a majority of electors are included under the agreement. The movement to enact this compact is rapidly gaining steam in states around the country – Maryland, New Jersey, Hawaii, and Illinois have enacted the compact and it has passed 18 state legislative chambers.
From The Dispatch
Fact Sheets
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National Popular Vote Factsheet - One page description of the national popular vote and arguments in favor from NPV, Inc.
In the News
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MA: Winner-take-all bill is OK'd by state Senate - The MA state Senate approves a bill that would give all 12 of…
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WI: Op-ed - Using popular vote to elect president is the way to go - Capital Times - A national movement is gaining steam to change the way we elect our president.
“National Popular Vote” would change the way Electoral College votes are allocated to guarantee that the presidency goes to the candidate who receives the most votes in an election.
And, no, it isn’t a direct reaction to the 2000 election, when Al Gore beat George W. Bush in the popular vote, but lost the election because of the peculiarities of our Electoral College. Rather, it has broad bipartisan support ranging from the likes of Democrat Birch Bayh of Indiana to Republican Jake Garn of Utah, who believe strongly that not only should the candidate who wins the popular vote get the job, but that the current system shortchanges all too many states during the presidential campaign.
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Let's Make Every Vote Count - The Nation - Quick: When did we elect the President last year? If you said November 4th, you're more than a month off. Try December 15th. That's when the electoral college convened in each state to formally ‘elect' Barack Obama president. Despite overturning the popular vote in 2000, efforts to establish direct election of the president– which would require amending the Constitution – have been unable to gain traction in Congress. Now two election reform organizations, relative newcomer National Popular Vote and the more established, have a promising proposal to use the electoral college for the very end it was intended to circumvent.
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Mass. lawmakers to ponder national popular vote bill -
Boston.com - Should the winner of the presidential election be determined by the national popular vote and not by the Electoral College system?
A coalition of good government and civil rights activists thinks so, and they're gathering at the State House today to outline the National Popular Vote bill at a news conference before testifying for it at a hearing of the Joint Committee on Election Laws.
Under the proposed bill, all of the state's electoral votes would be awarded to the candidate who receives the most popular votes nationally.
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WA: Legislature OKs Popular Vote Bill - Seattle Post-Intelligencer - Washington could enter a compact with other states to cast its 11 presidential electoral votes for the national popular vote winner, under a measure approved by the Legislature.
The House passed the bill on a 52-42 vote Wednesday night. It now goes to Gov. Chris Gregoire, who has expressed support for the measure.
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CO: Popular vote bill passes house - Denver Post - A bill that could change how Colorado awards its electoral votes for president cleared the state House this morning and is now halfway to the governor's desk.
The bill, House bill 1299, would make Colorado the fifth state to join an interstate compact in which members agree to award their presidential electoral votes to the winner of the national popular vote, regardless of which candidate won the state. The bill won approval today in the House 34-29, with two representatives not present.
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Ore. House approves popular vote legislation - AP - The Oregon House has approved a bill that would move the United States an inch closer toward having presidential elections decided by popular vote instead of the electoral college.
If approved by the state Senate and Gov. Ted Kulongoski, Oregon would become the fifth state to enact such legislation, joining Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland and New Jersey. -
IA: Senate Committee Votes to Dump Electoral College - Iowa Independent - A bill that pledges Iowa’s electoral votes to the winner of the national popular vote, no matter who wins the state, was approved by the Senate State Government Committee on an 8-7 vote Monday.
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AR: House passes bill supporting election of president by popular vote - Arkansas News - With only a few votes to spare, the House on Wednesday approved a bill endorsing election of the president by popular vote. In a 56-43 vote, the House approved House Bill 1339 by Rep. Eddie Cooper, D-Melbourne.
Legislation
Resource Organizations
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FairVote - FairVote acts to transform our elections to achieve universal access to participation, a full spectrum of meaningful ballot choices and majority rule with fair representation for all. As a catalyst for change, we build support for innovative strategies to win a constitutionally protected right to vote, universal voter registration, a national popular vote for president, instant runoff voting and proportional representation.
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National Popular Vote, Inc. - National Popular Vote Inc. is a 501(c)(4) non-profit corporation whose specific purpose is to study, analyze and…
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