United States Presidential Electors - National Popular Vote Interstate Compact

National Popular Vote Interstate Compact

A proposal has been made to restore the one person one vote principle without having to change the Constitution which involves an interstate compact. Individual states agree to pledge their electors to the winner of the national popular vote, provided that enough other states follow suit. The state legislatures of the cooperating states would then establish a direct election, thereby effectively circumventing the Electoral College, since they would collectively have a majority (at least 270) of the electoral votes.

This elegantly exploits one of the perversities of our current system—there’s no individual, federal right to have your ballot counted—and turns it against the system itself. It’s a state-based solution that could finally force a federal popular-vote election. And it’s gaining steam. — Katrina vanden Heuvel, in The Nation, 2012

The proposal is based on the current rule in Article II, Section 1, Clause 2 of the Constitution which gives each state legislature the authority to determine how it chooses its electors. Many partial versions of this plan have emerged over the years.

While each state has plenary power to determine how it chooses its electors, it is unclear whether Article I, Section 10, Clause 3 of the Constitution requires congressional consent before this compact could take effect.

Eight states and the District of Columbia have joined the compact. The first was Maryland, when Governor Martin O'Malley signed the bill into law on April 10, 2007. New Jersey joined on January 13, 2008, despite objections from Republicans who criticized the bill as undermining federal elections. Illinois passed the law on April 7, 2008. Hawaii joined on May 1, when the legislature overrode a veto from Governor Linda Lingle. On April 28, 2009, the State of Washington joined, when Governor Christine Gregoire signed HB 1598. Massachusetts joined the compact on August 4, 2010, when Governor Deval Patrick signed that state's bill into law. Additionally, the District of Columbia, which has three electoral votes, joined the compact on December 7, 2010. Vermont joined the compact on April 22, 2011, when Governor Peter Shumlin signed that state's bill into law. On August 8, 2011 California joined when Governor Jerry Brown signed a bill adding California to the compact. These adopters of the compact collectively have a total of 132 electoral votes, 138 votes short of the 270 needed for an electoral college majority.