Eleanor Finch
The National Popular Vote Interstate Compact (NPVIC) is a proposal to reform the United States presidential election process. It aims to address the shortcomings of the current system, where the winner of the popular vote in an election may not become president due to the `winner-take-all` laws that award all of a state's electoral votes to the candidate receiving the most popular votes within that state. The NPVIC is an agreement among states to guarantee the election of the presidential candidate who wins the national popular vote. While supporters argue that it is fully constitutional and would provide a more democratic alternative, opponents argue that it is unconstitutional and would favour more populous regions over rural states and towns. The compact has been enacted into law by 17 states and the District of Columbia, totalling 209 of the 270 electoral votes needed to activate the law.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Constitutionality | There is an ongoing legal debate about the constitutionality of the NPVIC. Opponents argue that it is unconstitutional and vaguely written. Supporters argue that it fully accords with the Constitution. |
| Objective | To ensure that the presidential candidate who wins the national popular vote is elected President of the United States. |
| Mechanism | States that join the NPVIC agree to commit all of their electoral votes to the winner of the national popular vote, rather than the candidate who wins their individual state. |
| Applicability | The compact only becomes binding when enough states join to reach the 270 electoral college votes threshold required to elect the President. |
| Current Status | As of April 2025, 17 states and the District of Columbia have joined the compact, totalling 209 electoral votes (77% of the 270 votes needed to give the compact legal force). |
| Historical Context | The idea gained traction after the 2000 US presidential election, in which Al Gore carried the popular vote but lost the Electoral College vote to George W. Bush. |
| State Support | States that have passed the NPVIC into law include California, Colorado, Delaware, Maryland, New Mexico, Oregon, and Washington. |
| Supreme Court Decision | The Supreme Court's "faithless electors" decision in 2020 validated the case for the NPVIC, reaffirming the states' ability to choose electors based on the national popular vote. |
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What You'll Learn
- The National Popular Vote law guarantees the Presidency to the candidate with the most popular votes
- The National Popular Vote Compact has been enacted into law by 17 states and DC
- The National Popular Vote is a constitutionally conservative, state-based approach
- The National Popular Vote would encourage presidential candidates to campaign in more states
- The National Popular Vote law will take effect when enacted by states with a majority of electoral votes
The National Popular Vote law guarantees the Presidency to the candidate with the most popular votes
The National Popular Vote law, or the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact (NPVIC), is a proposal that guarantees the Presidency to the candidate with the most popular votes. It is designed to ensure that the candidate who receives the most votes nationwide is elected President. The compact is an agreement among a group of US states to award all their electoral votes to the winner of the national popular vote. This means that the candidate with the most votes across all 50 states and the District of Columbia will receive all the electoral votes from the enacting states, guaranteeing their victory.
The NPVIC aims to address the shortcomings of the current system, where ""winner-take-all" laws allow a candidate to win all of a state's electoral votes by receiving the most popular votes in that state. This has resulted in five presidents being elected without winning the nationwide popular vote. The NPVIC would ensure that the popular vote winner also wins the electoral college, giving more weight to the will of the people.
Supporters of the NPVIC argue that it is constitutional and fully accords with the Constitution, which grants states the freedom to decide how to award their electoral votes. The US Constitution (Article II) gives states exclusive control over the method of awarding their electoral votes, and the NPVIC allows states to retain this power while also agreeing to commit their votes to the national popular vote winner.
However, there is an ongoing legal debate about the constitutionality of the NPVIC. Opponents argue that it is unconstitutional and vaguely written. They interpret the Compact Clause of Article I, Section X, and the Elections Clause of Article II, Section I, as limiting the power of states in this context. Additionally, they claim that the NPVIC would encourage candidates to campaign in the most populous regions, neglecting rural states and towns.
The NPVIC will only come into effect when enacted by states with a majority of electoral votes (270 out of 538). As of April 2025, 17 states and the District of Columbia have joined, totalling 209 electoral votes, which is 77% of the required 270 votes. The compact has gained support, with more states introducing and passing it into law in recent years.
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The National Popular Vote Compact has been enacted into law by 17 states and DC
The National Popular Vote Interstate Compact (NPVIC) is a proposal to reform the Electoral College system for electing the President of the United States. The NPVIC is an agreement among a group of US states to award all their electoral votes to the presidential candidate who wins the overall popular vote across all 50 states and Washington, D.C. The compact aims to ensure that the candidate who receives the most votes nationwide is elected president.
The NPVIC has been enacted into law by 17 states and Washington, D.C. These jurisdictions hold 209 of the 270 electoral votes needed to activate the compact and give it legal force. The 17 states include five small states (Delaware, Hawaii, Maine, Rhode Island, and Vermont), nine medium-sized states (Colorado, Connecticut, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, and Washington), and three big states (California, Illinois, and New York).
Supporters of the NPVIC argue that it would encourage presidential candidates to campaign in a wider range of states and provide a more democratic alternative to the current system. They also contend that the compact is fully constitutional, as the US Constitution grants states the autonomy to decide how to allocate their electoral votes.
Opponents of the NPVIC, however, argue that it is unconstitutional, vaguely worded, and would incentivize candidates to focus their campaigns on highly populated regions at the expense of rural states and towns. There is an ongoing legal debate about the NPVIC's constitutionality, with interpretations of the Compact Clause of Article I, Section X, and states' plenary power under the Elections Clause of Article II, Section I, being central to the discussion.
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The National Popular Vote is a constitutionally conservative, state-based approach
The National Popular Vote law is a constitutionally conservative, state-based approach that retains the power of the states to control how the President is elected. The law will take effect when enacted by states with a majority of electoral votes (270 out of 538). The presidential candidate who receives the most popular votes in all 50 states and Washington, D.C., will then receive all the electoral votes from the enacting states, guaranteeing their victory.
The National Popular Vote Compact has been enacted into law by 17 states and Washington, D.C., which together hold 209 of the 270 electoral votes needed to activate the law. These states include 5 small states, 9 medium-sized states, and 3 large states. The bill has also passed at least one legislative chamber in 7 states with 74 electoral votes and has been endorsed by 3,804 state legislators.
Supporters of the National Popular Vote argue that it would encourage presidential candidates to campaign in more states and provide a more democratic alternative to the current system. They also believe that the Compact fully accords with the Constitution, which grants states the freedom to decide how to award their Electoral College votes.
Opponents of the National Popular Vote, however, argue that the Compact is unconstitutional, vaguely written, and would encourage candidates to campaign primarily in the most populous regions, neglecting rural states and towns. Some critics also argue that the National Popular Vote Compact violates the Presidential Elections Clause of Article II of the U.S. Constitution, which grants states the power to select the manner in which each state's presidential electors are chosen.
The debate surrounding the National Popular Vote highlights the complexities of electoral reform and the ongoing discussions about the role of the Electoral College in the United States' democratic processes.
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The National Popular Vote would encourage presidential candidates to campaign in more states
The National Popular Vote law is a state-based approach that retains the power of the states to control how the President is elected. It will take effect when enacted by states with a majority of the electoral votes (270 of 538). The presidential candidate receiving the most popular votes in all 50 states and DC will get all the electoral votes from all of the enacting states. The National Popular Vote law will guarantee the Presidency to the candidate who receives the most popular votes in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. It will apply the one-person-one-vote principle to presidential elections, and make every vote equal.
Supporters of the National Popular Vote say it would encourage presidential candidates to campaign in more states and provide a more democratic alternative to the current system, which can result in presidential candidates winning the electoral college but losing the popular vote. They argue that the Compact fully accords with the Constitution, which grants states the freedom to decide how to award their Electoral College votes.
In contrast, opponents of the National Popular Vote argue that it is unconstitutional, vaguely written, and would encourage candidates to campaign in the most populous regions of the country at the expense of rural states and towns. They believe that the National Popular Vote Compact violates the Presidential Elections Clause of Article II of the U.S. Constitution, which gives states the power to select the manner in which each state’s presidential electors are chosen.
The current system, where a small number of votes in a small number of states decides the Presidency, has been criticised for fuelling doubt and controversy. For example, in 2020, if 21,461 voters in specific states had changed their minds, Joe Biden would have lost the election, despite leading by over 7 million votes nationally. This has resulted in presidential candidates focusing their campaigning efforts on voters in closely divided battleground states, with almost all (96%) of the general-election campaign events in 2020 concentrated in 12 states.
The National Popular Vote law aims to address these criticisms by ensuring that every voter, in every state, is politically relevant in every presidential election, regardless of where they live. It is designed to encourage presidential candidates to campaign in more states and give equal weight to each vote, regardless of the state in which it is cast.
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The National Popular Vote law will take effect when enacted by states with a majority of electoral votes
The National Popular Vote Interstate Compact (NPVIC) is a proposal that would retain the Electoral College while ensuring the presidential candidate who wins the national popular vote is elected President. It is an agreement among a group of US states to award all their electoral votes to whichever presidential candidate wins the popular vote across all 50 states and the District of Columbia. The compact is designed to ensure that the candidate who receives the most votes nationwide is elected president, and it would come into effect only when it would guarantee that outcome.
The NPVIC is based on the idea that states have broad authority over their electors, and nothing in the Constitution deprives them of this power. The US Constitution (Article II) gives states exclusive control over the choice of method of awarding their electoral votes, and supporters of the NPVIC argue that it fully accords with the Constitution. However, opponents argue that it is unconstitutional, vaguely written, and would encourage candidates to campaign in the most populous regions at the expense of rural states. There is an ongoing legal debate about the constitutionality of the NPVIC, with interpretations of the Compact Clause of Article I, Section X, and states' plenary power under the Elections Clause of Article II, Section I, at issue.
The NPVIC was introduced in 2006, and as of April 2025, 17 states and the District of Columbia have joined, totalling 209 electoral votes, or 77% of the 270 votes needed to give the compact legal force. For the compact to take effect, additional states totalling at least 61 electoral votes need to join. The compact has passed one legislative chamber in seven states with 74 electoral votes, and it has been endorsed by 3,804 state legislators.
The NPVIC would leave intact the current structure and electors of the Electoral College, but their votes would be based on the national popular vote results rather than their individual states' results. This would mean that the presidential candidate receiving the most popular votes in all 50 states and DC would get all the electoral votes from all the enacting states, guaranteeing them enough electoral votes to become President.
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Frequently asked questions
The NPVIC is an agreement among states to guarantee the election of the presidential candidate who wins the national popular vote.
When a state joins the NPVIC, it agrees to commit all of its electoral votes to the winner of the national popular vote, rather than the candidate who wins their individual state.
There is ongoing legal debate about the constitutionality of the NPVIC. Supporters of the NPVIC argue that it fully accords with the Constitution, which grants states the freedom to decide how to award their Electoral College votes. Opponents argue that it is unconstitutional, vaguely written, and would encourage candidates to campaign in the most populous regions of the country at the expense of rural states and towns.
As of April 2025, 17 states and the District of Columbia have joined the NPVIC, totalling 209 electoral votes, which is 77% of the 270 votes needed to give the compact legal force.
