Virginia voters are in position to help bring true majority rule to the U.S. This week the Virginia state senate is considering a bill to move America towards electing the President by National Popular Vote. The bill was passed by the Virginia House of Delegates in January and is now in a state senate committee. The committee is expected to vote Tuesday, February 25 following deliberations. By asking your Virginia state senator to support the National Popular Vote bill right now, you can help make far-reaching change in U.S. politics for the future.
What it is: The National Popular Vote bill guarantees the presidency to the candidate who receives the most popular votes in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Since 2007, the bill has been passed by 15 states and D.C., and has collected 196 electoral votes. The bill will go into effect when passed by states with a majority of electoral votes - i.e. 270. Democrats Abroad urges your support.
Prospects for enacting this legislation in Virginia are leaning positive as a result of the recent elections for both houses of the legislature, but we know the vote will be close. Please take a moment now to email your state senator, asking them to pass the National Popular Vote bill in Virginia.
More information below.
BACKGROUND INFO
The shortcomings of the current system of electing the President stem from state “winner-take-all” laws that award all of a state’s electoral votes to the candidate receiving the most popular votes in each state.
State winner-take-all laws have enabled 5 of our 45 Presidents to come into office without winning a majority of votes nationwide. The same thing could happen again in 2020.
The current state-by-state winner-take-all method of awarding electoral votes is not in the U.S. Constitution. It was not debated at the 1787 Constitutional Convention. It was not mentioned in the Federalist Papers. It was used by only three states in the first presidential election in 1789 (and all three repealed it by 1800).
Winner-take-all was enacted by the states under their authority under Article II of the U.S. Constitution, which says, "Each State shall appoint, in such Manner as the Legislature thereof may direct, a Number of Electors...."
State winner-take-all laws may be changed in the same way as they were originally enacted -- by the state legislature. It does not take an amendment to the U.S. Constitution to change a state law.
The National Popular Vote is achievable. Fifteen states and the District of Columbia have already enacted it. These 16 jurisdictions have 196 electoral votes. This is only 74 short of the 270 needed to activate the bill – your action can bring us 13 electoral votes closer to a fair system of electing the U.S. President.
For more information, see https://www.nationalpopularvote.com/