Throughout the recent midterm election campaign, radical Democrats made it no secret that they wanted to abolish the Electoral College. They think they can pull off the tall order by passing the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact (NPVIC).
Under the agreement, states would award all their Electoral College votes to the presidential candidate who wins the nationwide popular vote rather than the candidate who wins their individual state. If it takes effect, it would effectively ensure the national popular vote winner becomes president without formally abolishing the Electoral College.
"If they can get enough states to sign on to equal 270 electoral votes, then all of those member states would agree," notes Jason Snead, executive director of Honest Elections Project Action.
"Instead of giving their electoral votes to the winner of the presidential election in each state, the way that we do it now, they give it to the winner of the — quote, unquote— 'national popular vote,'" he summarizes
Critics of the Electoral College, such as The New York Times, call it everything from "antiquated" and "archaic" to "undemocratic."
It is also constitutional, outlined in the U.S. Constitution in Article II, Section 1.
Defenders of the Electoral College say it reflects the United States and its republican form of government rather than a two-wolves-and-a-sheep democracy.
As of this month, 18 states and Washington, D.C., have joined, representing 222 electoral votes — 48 short of the threshold.
Only the states that have signed on would be bound by the compact; the other states would continue awarding their electoral votes under their own existing laws.
But Snead warns the compact would essentially rewrite the rules of the Electoral College "to take away the power to choose the president from today's swing states and hand it to California, hand it to New York, hand it to Illinois, and let voters in New York City, Chicago, and Los Angeles essentially decide the outcome of future presidential elections."
Pointing out that Democrats swept control of five new states — Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Arizona, Michigan and Nevada — in the recent midterm elections, Snead says that is a real possibility.
"If those states join this compact, they will have enough votes to activate the compact ahead of the 2028 presidential election," he explains. "It's a live threat right now."
He believes the NPVIC would have a detrimental impact on the U.S. Constitution and on election integrity.
