Should someone else's vote count more than yours?
For 80% of Americans,
that's exactly what's happening.
Their vote for president
isn't nearly as valuable as the vote of someone
in a so-called “swing state.”
Most of us live in states that have become
so predictably Democratic or Republican
that we're taken for granted by candidates.
Presidential elections
now turn on the dwindling
number of swing states
that could go either way, which gives voters
in those states huge leverage.
The 2020 election came down to just over
40,000 votes
spread across just three swing states.
2016 came down to fewer than 80,000 votes
also across three states. In those elections,
the national popular vote
wasn't nearly that close.
In fact, in the last five elections,
the winners of the popular vote beat their opponents
by an average of 5 million votes.
The current state-by-state Electoral College
system of electing presidents
is creating ever-closer contests
in an ever-smaller
number of closely divided states
for elections that aren't really that close.
Not only that, but these razor-thin swing state margins
can invite post-election recounts, audits, and lawsuits
— even attempted coups.
A losing candidate
might be able to overturn 40,000 votes
with these techniques. Overturning 5 million
would be nearly impossible.
The current system presents a growing threat to the
peaceful transition of power.
It also strips us of our individual power.
If you’re a New York Republican
or an Alabama Democrat, presidential candidates
have little incentive to try and win your vote
under the current system.
They don't need broad
popular support as much as a mobilized base
in a handful of swing states.
Campaigning to a smaller
and more radical base
is also leading to uglier,
more divisive campaigns.
And it's becoming more and more likely that candidates
are elected president
without winning the most votes nationwide.
It's already happened
twice this century.
Now, abolishing the Electoral College
should be the ultimate goal.
But this requires a constitutional amendment,
which is almost impossible to pull off
because it would need a two-thirds vote by Congress,
plus approval by three-quarters
of all state legislatures.
But in the meantime,
there is an alternative
— and it starts with getting our states to join the
National Popular Vote Interstate Compact.
Now, don't let that mouthful put you off.
It could save our democracy.
This compact would guarantee
the presidency to the candidate
who receives the most popular votes nationwide
without a constitutional amendment.
How does it work?
The Constitution assigns each state
a number of electors equal
to its number of representatives and senators.
As of now, the total number of electors is 538.
So anyone who gets 270
or more of those Electoral College
votes becomes president.
Article II of the Constitution
allows state legislatures
to award their electors any way they want.
So all that's needed
is for states with a total of at least 270 electoral votes
to agree to award all their electoral votes to the
presidential candidate who wins the national popular vote.
The movement to do this is already underway.
15 states and the District of Columbia
have joined the compact,
agreeing that once enough states join, all their
electoral votes will go to the popular vote winner.
Together, states in the compact
have 195 electoral votes.
So we just need a few more states
with at least 75 electors to join the compact
and it's done.
Popular vote laws have recently been introduced in Michigan
and Minnesota,
which, if passed,
would bring the total to 220.
Now, naturally, this plan will face legal challenges.
There are a lot of powerful interests who stand to benefit
by maintaining the current system.
But if we keep up the fight
and get enough states on board,
America will never again
elect a president who loses
the national popular vote.
No longer would 80% of us
be effectively disenfranchised
from presidential campaigns.
And a handful of votes
in swing states would no longer
determine the winner.
If you want to know more or get involved, click the link below to
read about the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact.
If your state is not already a member,
I urge you to contact your state
senators and reps to
get your state on board.