Actions

Another State Wants To Elect US Presidents By Popular Vote

Eleven states and Washington, D.C., have signed a compact designed to ensure the winner of the national popular vote becomes president.

By: Stephanie Liebergen

Posted at 9:54 PM, May 07, 2018

A nationwide effort to sidestep the Electoral College in presidential elections just got another state on board.

The governor of Connecticut signed a bill that opts his state into the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact.

That agreement aims to ensure whatever presidential candidate gets the most votes ends up in the White House. And supporters of the compact say it would encourage presidential candidates to campaign all across the country, not just in swing states.

Remember, Hillary Clinton got almost 3 million more votes than President Donald Trump.

So, how would this work? States that are part of the compact would hand out their electoral votes based on who wins the national popular vote, regardless of how that state's residents actually voted.

So far, 11 states and Washington, D.C., have signed up. But the compact doesn't go into effect until the enacted states have at least 270 electoral votes, which is the magic number a candidate needs to win.

This effort started long before the 2016 election. And with the addition of Connecticut, the states in the compact represent 172 electoral votes.