Written by Amanda Williams
To win the presidential election, the candidate needs to win the majority of the Electoral College which comprises of 538 votes. So, one would think that the popular vote and the result of the Electoral College would be the same. However, out of the 45 presidents, five have won the Electoral College while losing the popular vote. This outcome was most recently seen with the victory of Donald Trump over Hillary Clinton, who won the popular vote.
This issue has caused outrage in California, which heavily supported Hillary Clinton. With the 2020 election quickly approaching, California and other states are conspiring together to make sure the popular vote and Electoral College outcome is the same. The desire has led to the creation of the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact (NPVIC).
The states who participate in the agreement plan to guarantee their electoral votes to the winner of the popular vote. As of right now, 15 states and the District of Columbia have agreed to the compact, meaning 36.4 percent of the Electoral College will relinquish their votes and cast them towards the popular vote.
The compact, however, is just a political scheme by Democrats to undermine the current electoral system. Using the larger electoral states, they want to weaken Trump’s chances at being reelected and wish to further their candidate, even if it is by Machiavellian methods. If the compact works as the states intend, it will strip the voting power from their own citizens. More broadly, it would seek to amend the United States Constitution, which established the Electoral College. This is just another tactic by Democrats to change the way the nation was founded and operates in order to fit their political agenda.
Even though the goal is to have the compact effective by the 2020 election, it is unlikely due to the issue of whether the NPVIC is a new interstate compact which would need approval by Congress under the Compact Clause. However, the left is confident that they will gain more support. Many states recognize how the compact will reduce their voting power in the presidential election. The majority of swing states have openly opposed the NPVIC due to the stripping of their voting power.
Photo by Element5 Digital
