National Popular Vote Legislation Would Kill the Electoral College
Back in April of 2009, Washington's Democratic Gov. Chris Gregoire signed the National Popular Vote bill, making Washington state the fifth state to do so. Zip ahead 10 years and 10 states later, Oregon has moved within one signature -- the governor's -- of becoming the 15th state to pass the national popular vote bill. When she does, it will bring to 196 of the total 270 votes needed to put the bill into effect.
The plan is an interstate agreement that would basically negate the equalizing effect of the Electoral College. It would call for all of a state's electoral votes to go to whichever candidate won the nationwide popular vote. So a candidate could lose 39 states and still win the presidency.
Recently, Maine said no thanks and Nevada's governor vetoed the bill as passed by the Nevada legislature, but the possibility seems closer to reality given the frustration by many over President Trump's electoral win despite losing the popular vote by 2.8 million votes.
Still, the popular FiveThirtyEight blog notes, " if the compact began to look like it was really going to take effect, opponents would likely sue and claim that it is unconstitutional. So despite its successes in 2019, the National Popular Vote interstate compact remains a highly uncertain proposition in the long term.”
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