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(DE) House passes bill which would enter Delaware in popular-vote interstate compact
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| Contributor | Scott³ |
| Last Edited | Scott³ Jun 24, 2009 06:16pm |
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| Category | News |
| News Date | Thursday, June 25, 2009 12:00:00 AM UTC0:0 |
| Description | "The House of Representatives passed legislation on Wednesday that would allow the president and vice president of the United States to be elected by national popular vote.
Sponsored by Rep. Dennis E. Williams, D-Talleyville, House Bill 198 would enter Delaware into an interstate compact to elect the president by national popular vote. According to National Popular Vote Inc., nearly every state has at least introduced a similar law, with five states having the legislation signed into law and the measure passing at least one chamber in 13 other states.
Under the current electoral college system, a president and vice president can be elected without receiving a majority or even a plurality of the popular vote. If a candidate receives 270 electoral votes – which can be achieved by winning the electoral votes of as few as 11 states (California, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Texas) – the candidate wins the election, regardless of the popular vote. Presidents have received the necessary electoral votes despite losing the popular vote, most notably President Rutherford B. Hayes in 1876 and President George W. Bush in 2000.
Under the compact, the state agrees to award its electoral votes to the presidential ticket that receives the most popular votes in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. The compact goes into effect when states cumulatively possessing a majority of the electoral votes have joined the compact.
“Right now, presidential candidates are campaigning in certain large and swing states, trying to collect the electoral votes they need to win,” Rep. Williams said. “This leads to smaller states like Delaware, with its three electoral votes, being disenfranchised and its voters largely ignored in the presidential election process." |
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