Virginia Democrats Introduce Bill to Select Presidential Electors by Popular Vote

Democrats in the Virginia House of Delegates have introduced a bill that would allow presidential electors to be chosen based on the national popular vote, as part of a broader push among left-leaning activists to end states’ rights to choose their own electors. 

“Every American citizen is created equal,” Del. Mark Levine (D-Arlington), who introduced HB 1933 told The Virginia Star. “We should all have an equal right to elect the President of the United States.”

Read the full story

Lawmakers Introduce Bill to Add Minnesota to Popular Vote Compact

State Sen. Chuck Wiger, DFL-Maplewood, introduced a bill Monday that would add Minnesota to a popular vote compact, securing the state’s electoral votes for the winner of the national popular vote.

According to a press release from the Senate DFL, Wiger’s bill would add Minnesota to the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact. States that are a part of this agreement “pledge their states’ electoral votes to the presidential and vice presidential candidates who win the national popular vote as opposed to the popular vote in their particular state.”

Read the full story

Justices Rule 9-0: States Can Bind Presidential Electors’ Votes

In a decision flavored with references to “Hamilton” and “Veep,” the Supreme Court ruled unanimously Monday that states can require presidential electors to back their states’ popular vote winner in the Electoral College.

The ruling, in cases in Washington state and Colorado just under four months before the 2020 election, leaves in place laws in 32 states and the District of Columbia that bind electors to vote for the popular-vote winner, as electors almost always do anyway.

Read the full story

Elections Omnibus Bill Would Make Minnesota Member of National Popular Vote Interstate Compact

An omnibus bill that could radically transform elections in Minnesota recently passed out of committee and is making its way through the Minnesota House. Among the most drastic proposals in the bill is one that would make Minnesota a member of the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact, which is an agreement among states to award their entire Electoral College delegation to the winner of the national popular vote. Since 2007, 12 states and the District of Columbia have joined the compact, and several other states are currently considering joining. The agreement wouldn’t take effect until its member states cumulatively possess a majority of the electoral votes. The bill would also place Minnesota on a growing list of states to automatically restore voting rights to felons once they have completed their time behind bars. The omnibus bill incorporates elements of at least 10 bills introduced in the Minnesota House this session, and is sponsored by Rep. Raymond Dehn (DFL-Minneapolis), chair of the House Subcommittee on Elections, who said his proposal would bring “more integrity” to elections. The bill passed out of the House Subcommittee on Elections, and will next head to the House Government Operations Committee, according to a press release.…

Read the full story

Ohio House Holds First Hearing on Bill to Award State’s Electoral College Delegates to Winner of Popular Vote

COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Ohio House Federalism Committee held its first hearing Wednesday for a bill that would make Ohio a member of the “Agreement Among the States to Elect the President by National Popular Vote.” Since 2007, 12 states and the District of Columbia have joined the compact, while both the Colorado General Assembly and the New Mexico Legislature voted in favor of joining this year. Under the agreement, Ohio’s entire Electoral College delegation would be awarded to the winner of the national popular vote. The bill, HB 70, is sponsored by Rep. David Leland (D-Columbus), who testified before the House Federalism Committee Wednesday. “This is a change that is long overdue. Two-thirds of the presidents elected in this century have been chosen by the Electoral College without a corresponding majority of the electorate for their first terms. Put simply, the person the people chose to be their president in their first term was ignored 66 percent of the time in this century,” Leland said during his testimony. He went on to argue that the Electoral College “rewards small states while punishing larger ones,” such as Ohio. “The population of Wyoming is 584,000 and they receive 3 Electors. This…

Read the full story

Colorado State Senate Votes to Strip the People’s Voice in Presidential Elections

voters polling place

by Jay Whig   Colorado, having cast its electoral votes for a loser in the 2016 presidential election, may not be content merely to be a one-time loser. The Colorado State Senate voted Tuesday – along party lines – to adopt Senate Bill 19-042, a bill to require that Colorado’s electors vote in presidential elections according to the national popular vote. The remarkable lesson Colorado Democrats have taken from their 2016 loss: best to forego a say in presidential elections altogether. It is hard to keep up with this sort of political genius. Had a law like SB 19-042 been in effect in 2016, it would have made not an iota of difference. Colorado’s electors cast their ballots for the candidate who won the national popular vote, because that is how the people of Colorado chose to vote. But if the bill clears the Colorado State House – sources say it is assured to win the governor’s signature – that exercise of political choice will be a thing of the past. Coloradans’ votes in the only national elections in America will be like – well, you know – to a gelding, just a memory. It can’t be lost on Colorado Democrats that there is no…

Read the full story