FairVote.org | National Popular Vote

National Popular Vote

Equality is fundamental to representative democracy. Everyone's vote should be equal when electing the president. Our current Electoral College system, grounded in state law, leads presidential candidates to concentrate their resources on voters in a handful of swing states, relegating the vast majority of the country to spectator status. FairVote advocates for direct election of the president, and has nurtured and supported the National Popular Vote plan to ensure that every vote for president is equally valued no matter where it is cast.

Washington State Enacts NPV

// April 29, 2009

On April, 28, Washington Governor Christine Gregoire signed National Popular Vote (NPV) legislation, making Washington the 5th state after Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, and New Jersey to sign the legislation. These five states have a total of 61 electoral votes, just less than a quarter of the 270 electoral votes needed to bring the compact into effect.

27 state legislative chambers in 17 states have passed the NPV plan, including Arkansas, Colorado, Michigan, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, and Vermont most recently. Introduced in 48 legislatures since its launch in 2006, the bill has earned the support of more than 1650 state representatives. Recent polls indicate more than 70% of voters across a full range of states support a national popular vote of the president.

[The Olympian Article on WA Passing NPV]
[Longview Daily News and Columbian Editorials on NPV]
[FairVote's FAQ on NPV & Direct Election of the President]
[Rob Richie’s Blog Post]
[National Popular Vote]

What is the Electoral College?

When U.S. citizens vote for president and vice president, they are actually electing a slate of their states' "electors" that represent them, and it is those electors' votes for president that actually count. Learn more about the Electoral College from the links below.

What is the National Popular Vote Plan?

The National Popular Vote plan (NPV) is a state-level statute in the form of an interstate compact. It would use the states' powers over the allocation of their presidential electors to award those electors to the winner of the national popular vote, making every vote for president equal.