National Popular Vote

Honoring the Will of the People

presentation prepared by
National Popular Vote
Task Force of LWVUS

Ver.2-7.2020 Picture courtesy Element5-digital 2i7Dn2uMEQE via Unsplash

 Something is Seriously Wrong
with our Elections

• In 2 of past 5 Elections,
candidate with fewer votes
became US President
• Candidates spend majority of
their time & resources in a
handful of battleground states
• Voters in MOST states feel
like their vote doesn’t matter
at all

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Ver.2-7.2020 Ballot Box image courtesy OpenClipart - vectors via Pixabay 146322
 How we Elect US President

We go to the
Ballot Box as
Americans…
Not simply
residents of
our state
Ver.2-7.2020 Poll Box image by Clker-Free-Vector-Images via Pixabay 3
 2020 Presidential Election
Was it Really a Landslide–or another Electoral College “near miss”

Despite that Biden won almost 7 million more votes than Trump campaign
the election was CLOSER than it seemed…
The switch of 21,461 votes in just 3 states
would have given President Trump 37 more Electors – reversing the outcome .
Arizona – 5,229 Georgia – 6,335 Wisconsin – 10,883
Ver.1-2.2020 Image courtesy of National Popular Vote, Inc. 4
 How We Elect US President

Problems
•Votes are not Equal
•MOST States passed over
in Campaign
•Will of the People
can be ignored
•Candidate with Most Votes
may not win
•Problem not the Electoral College
-- problem is system of
Winner-Take-All
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Ver.2-7.2020 Photo credit: LWVUS files via Flickr
 Choosing Electors

1800’s
States passed

WINNER
TAKE ALL
BILLS
48 states + Washington, DC

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How we SHOULD Elect the President

Ver.2-7.2020 Graphic credit: Barbara Klein, LWV 7

Possible Solutions

A. Amend Constitution and

abolish Electoral College

B. Maintain Electoral College –

and Improve current system

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 Our Position is Unique

For Over 48 Years… For Over 10 Years…

• We have supported • We have supported the
abolishing the NPV (National Popular
Electoral College Vote) plan
• We still do • As a method to make
Every Vote Equal
(until EC is abolished)

NPV plan itself depends on the EC, thus honors the tradition.
The LWV supports the NPV plan as a practical path to ensure the presidency
to the candidate with the most votes in all 50 states & DC.

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Possible Solutions

A. Amend Constitution and abolish Electoral

College – while possible, very difficult

B. Maintain Electoral College –

and Improve current system
• Stop using Winner-Take-All
(which is not in constitution)
• Guarantee winner has most votes
• Ensure Every Vote is Equal

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 National Popular Vote Interstate Compact

“The National Popular Vote bill would

guarantee the Presidency
to the candidate
who receives the
most popular votes
across all 50 states
and District of Columbia.”

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Ver.2-7.2020 Picture credit: Aaron Kittredge from Pexels
 We the People

Question: Is the current way the President & Vice

President are elected . . .

required by the Constitution?

Ver.2-7.2020 Art: Shutterstock, Inc., Toni Zimmer – Standard License, 2020 12

 How NPV Bill works within the Constitution

U.S. Constitution
Article 2,
Section 1 Article II
Section I
“Each State shall appoint, in
such Manner as the
Legislature thereof may
direct, a Number of
Electors…”

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Ver.2-7.2020 Art: Shutterstock, Inc., Toni Zimmer – Standard License, 2020
 National Popular Vote Interstate Compact

Activation happens when

signing-states total 270 electoral votes

NPV plan awards all of a

state’s electoral votes
to the winner of the
national popular vote
from all 50 states & DC

=
Majority of 538 votes

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Ver.2-7.2020. Picture credit: Aaron Kittredge from Pexels; 270 graphic, Barbara Klein, LWV
CURRENT SYSTEM (of Winner-Take-All)

MOST STATES are IGNORED

BIG or small

X
Ignored unless they are
X X X
SWING states.
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Ver.2-7.2020 Graphic credit: Barbara Klein, LWV
Ver.2-7.2020. Map - Courtesy of National Popular Vote, Inc. at www.nationalpopularvote.com 16
 CURRENT SYSTEM (of Winner-Take-All)
Ignores Most States
In 2016, almost all campaign events (94%) were in the 12 states where Trump’s support was
between 43% and 51%. Two-thirds of the events (273 of 399) were in just 6 states (OH, FL,
VA, NC, PA, MI).

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Ver.2-7.2020. Picture Courtesy of National Popular Vote, Inc.
CURRENT SYSTEM (of Winner-Take-All)

Battleground States
determine who becomes President

• Campaigns woo battleground states

• Campaigns ignore 70% of US voters

• RESULT: Voter Apathy

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 Clarification on “Faithless Electors”
SCOTUS ruling (7/6/2020)
GOOD for NPV Plan
NYTIMES heading:

The court said states may require members of the Electoral College to vote for the
presidential candidates they had promised to support.

From NPV, Inc.

• NPV law was not subject of case.

• … decision does not affect operation of NPV law.” [Both current &
NPV systems rely on political parties to vet & select presidential electors
who will faithfully vote for party's nominee.]

NPV plan requires that electors casting their ballots are from party
which won nationwide popular vote. Thus these electors would normally be happy
& willing to cast their vote for that winning candidate.

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 National Popular Vote Proposal

• Enables ALL states to be

Battleground states
• Respects the rights of
State Legislatures to replace
Winner-Take-All laws…
• Aligns with Constitution and
Maintains Integrity of
Electoral College

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Ver.2-7.2020. Art: Shutterstock, Inc., Toni Zimmer – Standard License, 2020
Status of National Popular Vote by State 2020

Total Electoral Votes in states

that have passed NPV: 196

270 needed to elect President

74 more Electoral Votes

needed to activate NPV

Ver.2-7.2020. Picture Courtesy of National Popular Vote, Inc. 21

 Where does the League of Women
Voters Stand? …..
For more than 48 years LWV has favored Election of the
US President by Popular Vote of the people

Our Position
[LWVUS] believes that the direct-popular-vote method for
electing the President & Vice-President is essential to
representative government.
The League of Women Voters believes, therefore, that the
Electoral College should be abolished. We support the use of
the National Popular Vote Compact as one acceptable way
to achieve the goal of the direct popular vote for election of
the president, until the abolition of the Electoral College is
accomplished. The League also supports uniform voting
qualifications and procedures for presidential elections.

NOTE:
The NPV plan does NOT call for the elimination of the
Electoral College – instead works with it.
Ver.2.7.2020 Photos Courtesy of Shawn Bartelt, 2nd VP, LWVFL.(Top) LWVCO; (Bottom) LWVUS 2018 Convention
 Why LWV supports the
National Popular Vote Plan …..
• YES…ALL Votes in ALL
states should, and will, count
the same
• Winner is the candidate who
wins most votes
• Encourages greater
voter turnout –-
[your vote would matter]
• National Popular Vote
honors State’s rights
while making sure… Every Vote is Equal
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Ver.2-7.2020. Art: Shutterstock, Inc., Toni Zimmer – Standard License, 2020
 Summary
National Popular Vote Plan
• GUARANTEES candidate with most popular votes
nationwide wins
• GIVES every vote equal value
• ENSURES all states are competitive
• HONORS the will of the people
• WORKS within Electoral College, preserving the
tradition
• DOES NOT require a Constitutional amendment

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 What Leaguers Can do

Call to Action If Your State has

Enacted NPV….

• Sign up to help • Phone Bank

• Write LTE’s
• Follow us on Facebook
• Spread the word
• Call your legislator about NPV online
• Plan or Attend a lobby • ‘Adopt’ another state
day – Help another League

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 THANK YOU!

presentation prepared by

National Popular Vote Task Force of LWVUS

Questions? Kathleen Crampton
Barbara Klein
Karen Nicholson
Sharon Reynolds
Toni Zimmer, Task Force chair
Origin date: January 2020. Amended: July 2020

Learn More:
Lwv.org/NPVtaskforce

For more information: contact your state LWV

Art: Shutterstock, Inc., Toni Zimmer – Standard License, 2020 26

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 Reference Slides Follow
• Wrong-Way Winners
• History & Structure of
Electors
• Choosing Electors
• Myths Addressed
(courtesy of Institute for Research on Presidential
Elections )

• Instructional Video

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How we Elect US President

Divergent Elections
Aren’t Just a Modern Phenomenon

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 What’s Wrong with Wrong-Way Winners?
Year Candidate with Candidate with Popular votes Popular votes for Popular vote
most popular most electoral for the candidate with the candidate who difference
votes votes the most popular votes placed 2nd in the
popular vote
2016 Hilary Clinton Donald Trump 65,844,969 62,979,984 2,864,985
(Wrong Way Winner #5)
(48.3%) (46.2%)

Year Popular vote Electoral vote winner Nationwide popular Electoral votes rec’d by Electoral votes rec’d by Popular vote switch that would
winner vote lead nationwide popular electoral vote winner have changed the outcome
vote winner

2004 Bush Bush 3,319,608 286 286 59,393 in Ohio

2000 Gore Bush 537,179 267 271 269 in Florida

(Wrong Way Winner #4)

1976 Carter Carter 1,682,970 297 297 5,559 in Ohio 3,687 in Hawaii

1968 Nixon Nixon 510,645 301 301 10,245 in Missouri and 67,481 in
Illinois

1960 Kennedy Kennedy 114,673 303 303 4,430 in Illinois and 4,782 in So
Carolina

1948 Truman Truman 2,135,570 303 303 3,554 in Ohio and 42,835 in New
Jersey 29
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 History

Constitutional Convention considered election

of the President by:
• Popular vote
• State governors
• Congress
• State legislatures
• Electors

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 Electors

+ +
100 Senators 435 Representatives 3 DC electors

538
=
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 One Example of Elector Allocation

Florida’s
Electors +
2 Senators 27 Representatives

= 29 Electors

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 How Electors Cast Their Votes

Ver.2-7.2020 Graphic credit by permission: Charlene Griffin, LWV (Florida) 33

 Where the Constitution is Silent

How states Article II

appoint their Section I

electors

Ver.2-7.2020. Art: Shutterstock, Inc., Toni Zimmer – Standard License, 2020 34

 Clarification on “Faithless Electors”
SCOTUS ruling (7/6/2020)
GOOD for NPV Plan
NYTIMES heading:

The court said states may require members of the Electoral College to vote for the
presidential candidates they had promised to support.
From NPV, Inc.

• “…. SCOTUS unanimously ruled that states have the power to require presidential electors to vote for their
own party’s candidate for President. “
• ……” if states have a law [not all do] binding electors to their vote, or replacing people who do not cast ballots as
they pledged to… constitutional for those electors to be replaced….”
• Ruling doesn't require electors to be 'faithful‘” just says states have power to require electors be faithful.
• NPV law was not subject of cases.
• … decision does not affect operation of NPV law.” [Both current & NPV systems rely on political parties to vet
& select presidential electors who will faithfully vote for party's nominee.

Reminder: NPV plan requires that electors casting their ballots

are from party which won nationwide popular vote. Thus these
electors would normally be happy & willing to cast their vote
for that winning candidate.
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 Electing the President by National
Popular Vote IS Constitutional
• “Each State shall appoint, in such Manner as the Legislature
thereof may direct, a Number of Electors, equal to the whole
Number of Senators and Representatives to which the State may be
entitled in the Congress . . .” - Article II, Section I of the U.S.
Constitution

• State legislatures decide how to apportion their state’s electoral

votes, a power that the Supreme Court has termed “plenary”
(absolute).

• This is a state-by-state decision that does NOT require a

constitutional amendment
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Interstate Compacts & Congressional Consent

• Congressional consent is only necessary for interstate compacts

that “encroach upon or interfere with the just supremacy of the
United States.” - US Steele v. Multi-State Tax Commission

• The choice of method of appointing presidential electors is an

“exclusive” and “plenary” state power, there is no encroachment
on federal authority.

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 Partisan Motives?

• The National Popular Vote movement started in 2006.

• Maryland was the first state to join the NPVIC in 2007.

• This isn’t a left or right issue, it’s an American issue.

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 Large Cities Won’t Control the Election

• Population of the 5 biggest cities = 6% of American population

• Population of the 20 biggest cities = 10% of American population
• Population of the 50 biggest cities = 15% of American population
• Population of the 100 biggest cities = 16% of American population

• 85% of the American population live in places with a population less than
360,000 people

National Popular Vote makes every vote equal

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 Small States Have No Advantage Under
Winner-Take-All

• 10 of the 13 smallest states have been totally ignored in

the past 3 presidential elections.

• The 12 smallest non-battleground states have 40 electoral

votes—more than twice Ohio’s 18 electoral votes.
However, Ohio received 73 of 253 general election
campaign events in 2012, while the 12 small non-
battleground states received none.

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 The Founding Fathers Did Not Create
Our Modern System

The current system:

• was not debated at the Constitutional
Convention,
• was not discussed in the Federalist Papers, and
• did not become the most common system among
the states until long after the Founding Fathers
had passed away.

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Withdrawing from the Compact

States cannot withdraw from the compact between

July 20 of a presidential election year and the
inauguration on January 20 of the following year.

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 There Won’t Be Recount Chaos

• A recount would be less likely to be needed under the National Popular

Vote plan than under current state-by-state winner-take-all system.

• There have been five litigated state counts in the nation’s 57

presidential elections between 1789 and 2012 under the current state-
by-state winner-take-all system.

• This rate is dramatically higher than the historical 1-in-185 rate for
elections in which there is a single statewide pool of votes and in which
the winner is the candidate who receives the most popular votes.

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 Why is National Popular Vote plan
called an Interstate Compact ?

Interstate Compact:

•Contract or agreement between 2 or more states

•Agreement on a policy issue *
•Adoption of common standard **

* Agreement to make every vote equal by exchanging Winner-Take-All process

** Agreement that while working through the Electoral College, all Participating States award
their state’s electoral votes to candidate who wins the national popular vote

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 National Popular Vote Explained

Ver.2-7.2020 Video by PopVote available for Public viewing on YouTube at https://youtu.be/w6ZOiiMjIxE 45