General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsThere's a plan afoot to replace the Electoral College, and your state may already be part of it.
There's a plan afoot to replace the Electoral College, and your state may already be part of it.Called the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact, the agreement calls for states to award their electoral votes to the winner of the popular vote.
So far, 15 states and the District of Columbia have approved the pact, covering 196 electoral votes of the required 270 to win the presidency.
That 270 matters: The states that have approved legislation to join the compact agreed it would not take effect until the 270 threshold is reached. Once it does, those states will have the power to use their Electoral College votes to elect a winner, according to the popular vote. This uses the Electoral College to effectively abolish the Electoral College.
Some extra info:
The states that have approved the legislation are California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Washington.
They collectively hold 196 electoral votes, so 74 additional votes are needed.
All of the states that have approved the legislation are states that Joe Biden won. None of the states that Trump won have approved the legislation.
The states that have awarded all of their electoral votes to Biden but have not yet approved the legislation are Michigan (16 votes), Minnesota (10 votes), Nevada (6 votes), New Hampshire (4 votes), Pennsylvania (20 votes), Virginia (13 votes), and Wisconsin (10 votes).
Maine awarded 3 of its 4 votes to Biden and 1 vote to Trump, and has not approved the legislation.
States that Trump will win but haven't been called yet are North Carolina (15 votes) and Alaska (3 votes).
States that Biden will win but haven't been called yet are Arizona (11 votes) and Georgia (16 votes).
It could happen!
brooklynite
(94,541 posts)The States supporting the Compact are thelow-hanging fruit; youll never get States equaling 270 EVs.
Progressive Jones
(6,011 posts)TwilightZone
(25,471 posts)May not be enforceable.
May not be Constitutional.
There aren't enough states to get to 270 because of GOP governors and/or state legislatures. In most of those states, it's unlikely to change soon because they're quite red.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Popular_Vote_Interstate_Compact#Legality
Towlie
(5,324 posts)It's hard to imagine that something that's important wouldn't get challenged in court, Bernstein said.
We feel very confident that we would survive those challenges. The Constitution is very clear that state legislators have the exclusive and plenary right to award the state's electors however they so choose. And so that's exactly what this compact does.
And if there weren't enough blue states to make up >270 votes then why did Joe Biden win?
TwilightZone
(25,471 posts)There is no consensus on the subject. Of course, the people for the compact are confident that it would survive challenges. Whether their optimism is warranted has yet to be determined.
hlthe2b
(102,263 posts)No one knows if any legislation will pass muster until it is passed and challenged. ANY.
hlthe2b
(102,263 posts)constitutional challenge and yes, he does favor it. As do I and I was thrilled the legislative passage was validated with a voter proposition last week.
No, there are not enough states yet...they are needing a little less than a dozen states, but it can work. Nothing happens until they do have enough for 270 EC, so the naysayers (who rarely inform themselves on how it works) have nothing to worry about for the time being. And yes, once states enter into a compact there is a contractual aspect to it that could be litigated if a state tried to back out after (not before) the first election following its full passage/enactment. Just as the western states do on water rights which have long been the subject of multistate compacts, which I can assure you the courts regularly do enforce.