The Connecticut House of Representatives passed the National Popular Vote bill today.  The bill now goes to the Senate.  Senate President Martin Looney and Governor Dannell Malloy have already publicly expressed their support for the bill. Hartford Courant article 

The  National Popular Vote  bill would guarantee the Presidency to the candidate who receives the most popular votes in all 50 states and DC.   
 
Please take a moment to email   your own state legislators and officials asking them to pass the National Popular Vote bill .    
 
The criticisms of the bill during the four-hour debate were all familiar and answered in our short videos (about 5 minutes each).
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION 
The  National Popular Vote  bill would make every vote for President equal throughout the United States. 

The shortcomings of the current system of electing the President stem from "winner-take-all" laws that have been enacted at the state level. These laws award 100% of a state's electoral votes to the candidate receiving the most popular votes in each state. 

Because of these state winner-take-all laws, five of our 45 Presidents have come into office without having won the most popular votes nationwide.   This includes two of the last three Presidents.  Because we have been in an era of close national elections since 1988,   undemocratic outcomes will continue to occur if the system for electing the President is not changed.

Moreover, candidates have no reason to campaign in, advertise in, or pay attention to voters in states (such as Connecticut) where they are safely ahead or hopelessly behind. 
 
In 2012, 100% of the general-election campaign events and virtually all expenditures were concentrated in the 12 closely divided "battleground" states where Romney's support was 45%-51%.  Connecticut (and 37 other states) were totally ignored because public opinion was not close in those states.  Two-thirds of the events (176 of 253) were concentrated in just 4 states (Ohio, Florida, Virginia, and Iowa). 

In 2016, almost all general-election campaign events (94%) were in the 12 closely divided "battleground" states where Trump's support was in the narrow range of 43%-51%.  Two-thirds of the campaign events (273 of 399) were in just 6 states (Ohio, Florida, Virginia, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Michigan).  

It does not take an amendment to the U.S. Constitution to change existing state  winner-take-all laws.  State winner-take-all laws were enacted by state legislatures under their authority under Article II of the U.S. Constitution: 
"Each State shall appoint, in such Manner as the Legislature thereof may direct, a Number of Electors...."
These laws may be changed by the state legislature. 

The winner-take-all method of awarding electoral votes was used by only three states in the nation's first presidential election in 1789 (and repealed by all three by 1800).  Winner-take-all was never debated at the Constitutional Convention or mentioned in the Federalist Papers. It did not become predominant until 1880 -- almost a century after the U.S. Constitution was written.

Under the National Popular Vote bill, the national popular vote winner will receive all the electoral votes from the enacting states. The bill will take effect when enacted by states possessing a majority of the electoral votes -- enough to elect a President (270 of 538).   Then, when the Electoral College meets in mid-December, the national popular vote winner will become President because the enacting states will represent at least 270 electoral votes. Thus, the Electoral College will represent the will of the voters in all 50 states (and DC). 

A national popular vote for President is an achievable political goal that can be in place in time for the 2020 election. The  bill has already been enacted into law in 11 states possessing 165 electoral votes.  It will take effect when enacted by additional states having 105 electoral votes.   The bill has previously passed one chamber in 12 additional states with 96 electoral votes and been approved by unanimous bipartisan committee votes in two states with an additional 26 electoral votes.  A total of 3,115 state legislators have endorsed it.   
OTHER THINGS YOU CAN DO
  • Please share the National Popular Vote home page with your friends on Facebook or other social networks.  Please ask your friends to ask their state legislators to support the National Popular Vote bill in their state using the convenient email system on our home page.  
  • Like us on Facebook
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  • Learn more from the 14 videos about National Popular Vote at YouTube or on the National Popular Vote home page. 
  • Visit or phone your state Senator at their local office or office in Hartford to emphasize your support.  You can look up their office address, phone, and web address by entering your zip code and address at  www.NationalPopularVote.com/write and then clicking on "contact info for my legislators and officials."  
  • Ask a local group to make the method of electing the President the topic of a guest speaker, panel discussion, or debate.
  • Add your "two cents" to published items on the web by agreeing with favorable articles, or correcting the errors in opposing articles. You can follow the ongoing debate on the web by signing up for free Google alerts  for "electoral college" or "national popular vote" 
  • Learn more about National Popular Vote from chapter 9 of our book Every Vote Equal: A State-Based Plan for Electing the President by National Popular Vote.  The entire book is free to read or download. You can purchase the book for $4.95 at Amazon. 
  • Send us your ideas for other ways to help by replying to this email. 
Thank you. 

National Popular Vote