The Nevada Senate today passed the National Popular Vote bill 12-8, thus becoming the 40th state legislative chamber to do so. The bill (which passed the Nevada Assembly earlier this year) now goes to Governor Steve Sisolak.  

In Oregon, the House Rules Committee held a hearing yesterday on the bill.  Four of the seven committee members are sponsors of the bill, and the committee is expected to vote on the bill shortly.   The bill passed the Senate earlier this year, and has passed the Oregon House on 4 previous occasions.  If the bill passes the House, it will go to Governor Kate Brown, who is a long-time supporter.  

The National Popular Vote bill is pending in the Maine House. It passed the Senate earlier this year. 

Please take a moment and use our convenient email system to send emails asking your state legislators in your state to support the National Popular Vote bill. 

The National Popular Vote bill would guarantee the Presidency to the candidate who receives the most popular votes in all 50 states and the District of Columbia.  

Under the current system of electing the President, an individual voter in Nevada has a direct vote in selecting only 6 presidential electors (out of 270 needed to elect a President).  

In contrast, the National Popular Vote bill would give each individual voter in Nevada (and every other state) a  direct and unfiltered vote toward the election of 270 presidential electors supporting their choice for President.  Every voter, in every state, would have their individual vote counted directly toward their choice for president.  The presidential candidate getting the most popular votes in all 50 states and DC would become President, because that candidate will have the support of at least 270 presidential electors in the Electoral College.  

Fifteen states (green on the map) have now enacted the bill into law.  The 15 states possess 189 electoral votes  -- 81 short of the 270 electoral votes that the bill needs to take effect. 


Learn more: 
The non-profit National Popular Vote organization employs  traveling and local representatives on a year-round basis to conduct one-on-one meetings with state legislators, executive-branch officials, citizen's groups, and others who  influence state legislators.  Please donate to National Popular Vote. 

BACKGROUND 
The National Popular Vote bill would guarantee the Presidency to the candidate who receives the most popular votes in all 50 states and the District of Columbia.  It would make every vote for President equal throughout the United States.  It would guarantee that every voter in every state matters in every presidential election. 

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 (including two of the last three) have come into office without having won the most popular votes nationwide.   

Another problem occurs in every presidential election, namely that presidential candidates have no reason to campaign in, or pay attention to, voters in states where they are safely ahead or hopelessly behind.  

In 2012, 100% of the general-election campaign events (and virtually all campaign expenditures) were concentrated in the 12 closely divided "battleground" states where Romney's support was 45%-51%.   The map shows the distribution of general-election campaign events. Thirty-eight states were totally ignored, including almost all small states, medium-sized states, rural states, western states, southern states, and northeastern states. Two-thirds of the events (176 of 253) were concentrated in just 4 states (OH, FL, VA, IA). 

Similarly, in 2016, almost all (94%) general-election campaign events were in the 12 "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 (OH, FL, VA, NC, PA, MI). 

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 state laws may be changed in the same way as they were originally enacted -- namely by action of the state legislature.

The winner-take-all method of awarding electoral votes was not the Founding Fathers' choice.  It 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

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).   When the Electoral College meets in mid-December, the national popular vote winner will become President because the enacting states will provide him or her with at least 270 electoral votes.  

A national popular vote for President is an achievable political goal.  In addition to the 15 states mentioned above, it has passed one house in 8 additional states with 72 electoral votes (AR, AZ, ME, MI, NC, NV, OK, OR), including a 40-16 vote in the Republican-controlled Arizona House and a 28-18 in Republican-controlled Oklahoma Senate, and been approved unanimously by committee votes in two additional Republican-controlled states with 26 electoral votes (GA, MO).  A total of 3,265 state legislators among all 50 states have endorsed it.

For additional information, see our book Every Vote Equal: A State-Based Plan for Electing the President by National Popular Vote (downloadable for free at www.NationalPopularVote.com).  Chapter 9 provides short and long answers to 131 myths about the National Popular Vote bill.  We will be happy to send a copy of our book to any state legislator or staff member.   

The non-profit National Popular Vote organization employs  traveling and local representatives on a year-round basis to conduct one-on-one meetings with state legislators, executive-branch officials, citizen's groups, and others who  influence state legislators.  Please donate to National Popular Vote. 
 
Thank you.