There's a plan afoot to replace the Electoral College, and your state may already be part of it.

[Towlie]

There's a plan afoot to replace the Electoral College, and your state may already be part of it.

Colorado voters have decided to join a growing list of states that will decide a president by popular vote, the latest move in a national chess match over the way the United States elects its presidents.

Called the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact, the agreement calls for states to award their electoral votes to the winner of the popular vote.

So far, 15 states and the District of Columbia have approved the pact, covering 196 electoral votes of the required 270 to win the presidency.

That 270 matters: The states that have approved legislation to join the compact agreed it would not take effect until the 270 threshold is reached. Once it does, those states will have the power to use their Electoral College votes to elect a winner, according to the popular vote. This uses the Electoral College to effectively abolish the Electoral College.

Some extra info:

The states that have approved the legislation are California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Washington.

They collectively hold 196 electoral votes, so 74 additional votes are needed.

All of the states that have approved the legislation are states that Joe Biden won. None of the states that Trump won have approved the legislation.

The states that have awarded all of their electoral votes to Biden but have not yet approved the legislation are Michigan (16 votes), Minnesota (10 votes), Nevada (6 votes), New Hampshire (4 votes), Pennsylvania (20 votes), Virginia (13 votes), and Wisconsin (10 votes).

Maine awarded 3 of its 4 votes to Biden and 1 vote to Trump, and has not approved the legislation.

States that Trump will win but haven't been called yet are North Carolina (15 votes) and Alaska (3 votes).

States that Biden will win but haven't been called yet are Arizona (11 votes) and Georgia (16 votes).

It could happen!

[brooklynite]

1. It will never happen...

The States supporting the Compact are thelow-hanging fruit; you’ll never get States equaling 270 EVs.

[Progressive Jones]

2. K & R nt

[TwilightZone]

3. Several problems

May not be enforceable.

May not be Constitutional.

There aren't enough states to get to 270 because of GOP governors and/or state legislatures. In most of those states, it's unlikely to change soon because they're quite red.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Popular_Vote_Interstate_Compact#Legality

[Towlie]

4. That's discussed at the end of the article.

There's a plan afoot to replace the Electoral College, and your state may already be part of it.

One thing all parties agree on is the likelihood of a legal challenge after the campaign reaches the required number of electoral votes. Proponents are confident that the courts will ultimately allow states to decide how to carry out presidential elections.

“It's hard to imagine that something that's important wouldn't get challenged in court,” Bernstein said.

“We feel very confident that we would survive those challenges. The Constitution is very clear that state legislators have the exclusive and plenary right to award the state's electors however they so choose. And so that's exactly what this compact does.”

And if there weren't enough blue states to make up >270 votes then why did Joe Biden win?

[TwilightZone]

6. That's what they all say.

There is no consensus on the subject. Of course, the people for the compact are confident that it would survive challenges. Whether their optimism is warranted has yet to be determined.

[hlthe2b]

7. No one knows until it happens. Setting that up as the circular argument is nuts.

No one knows if any legislation will pass muster until it is passed and challenged. ANY.

[hlthe2b]

5. Laurence Tribe has written extensively about this in the past. He believes it will withstand

constitutional challenge and yes, he does favor it. As do I and I was thrilled the legislative passage was validated with a voter proposition last week.

No, there are not enough states yet...they are needing a little less than a dozen states, but it can work. Nothing happens until they do have enough for 270 EC, so the naysayers (who rarely inform themselves on how it works) have nothing to worry about for the time being. And yes, once states enter into a compact there is a contractual aspect to it that could be litigated if a state tried to back out after (not before) the first election following its full passage/enactment. Just as the western states do on water rights which have long been the subject of multistate compacts, which I can assure you the courts regularly do enforce.