The National Popular Vote Compact, whose members agree to award their electoral votes in presidential elections to the winner of the popular vote, effective as soon as 270 electors’ worth of states sign the compact.

Today New York officially joined 11 other states that have signed the NPV, giving it 165 of the 270 votes needed.

For people that dislike the current Electoral College this is big news.


The purpose of NPV is to guarantee election of the presidential candidate who receives the most popular votes in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. It creates an agreement among states to award all of their electoral votes collectively to the presidential candidate who wins the national popular vote once the participating states together hold a majority (currently 270 of 538) of electoral votes. The choice for legislators is straightforward: passing NPV will guarantee election of the national popular vote winner once the compact has been joined by enough states to make it decisive for determining the outcome of future elections. Until that point, a state’s current rules apply.