Democrats’ sweeping midterm victories have put a long-shot plan to sideline the Electoral College within reach, but the plan would require some of the party’s biggest winners to make their own states less powerful.
The National Popular Vote Interstate Compact is an agreement among states to award their electoral votes to whoever wins the national popular vote, no matter who wins in their own state, and Politico reported that last week’s elections moved that closer to reality.
The compact takes effect once member states total at least 270 electoral votes. Right now, 18 historically blue states and Washington, D.C., have signed on, for a combined 222. If Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Wisconsin join, along with either Arizona or Nevada, the compact would reach the threshold – and all five states will be under unified Democratic control starting next year.
Ben Wikler, the former Wisconsin Democratic Party chair and a backer of the compact, acknowledged the awkward position that puts battleground states in.
“Battleground states passing the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact is like the popular kids abolishing the concept of popularity,” he said. Still, Wikler argued Wisconsinites “shouldn’t be high and mighty, lording over the powerless voters in the coastal states. We should be a one-person, one-vote democracy.”
So far, the incoming Democratic leaders are hedging.
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, a possible 2028 contender, told Politico he is “open” to joining. Separately, at Crooked Media’s “Crooked Con,” he said a national popular vote “makes sense.”
Incoming Arizona Senate Majority Leader Priya Sundareshan said her caucus will take it up, but the timing is unsettled. Incoming Michigan Senate Majority Leader Darrin Camilleri said he’s open to it but expects Republicans to sue.
“Other states that have done this are not going to be the tipping-point states,” Camilleri said. “We very well could be one of those tipping-point states, and so I want to ensure that everybody is on the same page.”
Wisconsin Gov.-elect David Crowley backed a 2019 bill to join the compact but sidestepped the question, saying he’s focused on his transition. The offices of Michigan Gov.-elect Jocelyn Benson, Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs, and Nevada Gov.-elect Aaron Ford either declined to comment or didn’t respond.
Nevada is a cautionary tale. In 2019, Democratic Gov. Steve Sisolak vetoed a bill to join the compact, warning it would weaken smaller states.
Still, advocates are bullish about getting it done before 2028.
“I’ve never been more confident in my life,” said Patrick Rosenstiel, a spokesperson for National Popular Vote, the bipartisan group behind the compact.
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