The National Popular Vote (NPV) movement emerged in late 2006 and has slowly gain some steam since then.
The NPV movement seeks to ensure that the presidential candidate who wins the most popular votes nationwide is elected president. When a state passes legislation to join the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact, it pledges that all of that state's electoral votes will be given to whichever presidential candidate wins the popular vote nationwide, rather than the candidate who won the vote in just that state.
These bills will take effect only when states with a majority of the electoral votes (270 of the 538 total) have passed similar legislation and joined the compact.
State Action on National Popular Vote
Between 2006 and the present, every state legislature in the nation has considered a National Popular Vote bill. Some legislation has sought to rescind commitments to the NPV compact, although none of these bills have been enacted.
Enacted
To date, 16 states and the District of Columbia have passed NPV bills into law:
- 2024: Maine
- 2023: Minnesota
- 2019: Colorado, Delaware, New Mexico and Oregon.
- 2018: Connecticut.
- 2016: New York made its participation in the compact permanent (previously the state had to renew its participation in 2018).
- 2014: New York.
- 2013: Rhode Island.
- 2011: California and Vermont.
- 2010: Massachusetts and D.C..
- 2009: Washington.
- 2008: Hawaii and Illinois.
- 2007: Maryland and New Jersey.
See NCSL's elections legislation database for more information on states currently considering NPV legislation.
Vetoed
- In 2019 the governor vetoed NPV legislation in Nevada.
- NPV bills were vetoed in Rhode Island and Vermont in 2008, but enacted in 2013 and 2011 respectively.
- An NPV bill was vetoed in Hawaii in 2007, and the veto of a second NPV bill was eventually overridden by the Hawaii Legislature in 2008.
- The California legislature passed NPV legislation in 2006 and 2008, but it was vetoed by the governor both times. An NPV bill was finally enacted in California in 2011.