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HOW NATIONAL POPULAR VOTE WORKS
The winner-take-all method of awarding electoral votes is not in the U.S. Constitution. The Constitution says:
“Each State shall appoint, in such Manner as the Legislature thereof may direct, a Number of Electors….”
The Constitution gives the states exclusive control over the choice of method of awarding their electoral votes. A state legislature and governor can replace the current winner-take-all method in the same way it initially adopted it, namely by passing a new state law.
The National Popular Vote Interstate Compact will take effect when approved by states with a majority of the electoral votes (270 of 538). Then, the presidential candidate winning the most popular votes in all 50 states and DC will get all the electoral votes from all of the enacting states. That is, the candidate winning the most popular votes nationwide will be guaranteed enough votes in the Electoral College to become President.
Under the National Popular Vote law, no voter will have their vote cancelled out because their choice differed from prevailing sentiment in their state. Instead, every voter’s vote will be added directly into the national count of the candidate chosen by that voter.
This will ensure that every voter, in every state, will be politically relevant in every presidential election—regardless of where they live.
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