In Maine the state House has approved the state joining an effort known as the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact, an effort to legally instruct a state’s electoral college delegates to support the winner of the national popular vote.
House members voted 74 to 67, with five Democrats joining Republicans in opposition, to approve the state joining the interstate compact, according to the Bangor Daily News.
If approved by the state Senate and governor, it would become the 17th state to join the compact. The compact would only take effect if enough states approve the measure to constitute a majority in the Electoral College.
If enough states approve the compact and the measure is activated it would dramatically reshape presidential politics and likely force parties to build new coalitions as a result.
In recent history, both President Bush in 2000 and President Trump in 2016 won the presidency without winning the popular vote.
The National Popular Vote organization notes on their website that the current winner-take-all model most states use to allocate their electors is not mentioned in the Constitution and was not mentioned at the Constitutional Convention.
“Instead, the U.S. Constitution (Article II) gives the states exclusive control over the choice of method of awarding their electoral votes — thereby giving the states a built-in way to reform the system,” the group writes.
As it stands, the 16 states that have approved the compact account for 205 electoral votes. If Maine approves the measure that number would become 209, and the group would need 65 more votes to have a majority in the Electoral College, 270.
The measure is also pending in state legislatures accounting for an additional 97 electoral votes, including Michigan, Wisconsin, Virginia, Kentucky, Nevada, Alaska, Arizona, North Carolina, and South Carolina.
RUSSELL PAYNE
Source link
