Maine’s electoral college votes may soon be poised to go toward the winner of the national popular vote in presidential elections — regardless of who Mainers choose to support at the ballot box.
LD 1578 — An Act to Adopt an Interstate Compact to Elect the President of the United States by National Popular Vote — sponsored by Rep. Arthur L. Bell (D-Yarmouth) was introduced during the first legislative session and carried over to this year.
The National Popular Vote Interstate Compact, if approved by Maine lawmakers, would award the state’s four electoral votes to whichever candidate garners the most popular votes nationwide, irrespective of who the majority of Mainers voted for at the ballot box.
Debates concerning the validity of the electoral college — as opposed to the national popular vote — as a means by which to elect the president have come to the forefront in recent years, especially following the 2016 presidential election.
In December of 2016, after all the votes had been counted nationwide, former presidential candidate Hillary Clinton had won the popular vote; however former President Donald Trump won more votes in the Electoral College.
This was the fifth time in United States history — and the second time in the 21st century — that the candidate who won the most votes in the Electoral College did not also win the national popular vote.
The Electoral College was originally created by the Founders in 1787 as a compromise among the delegates at the Second Constitutional Convention.
Although the original design of the Electoral College bears little resemblance to the manifestation of the system as it is known today — aside from the distribution of electoral votes based on a state’s Congressional representation — it nonetheless continues to impact the shape and character of presidential elections.
Fundamentally, the Electoral College creates a system in which a successful presidential campaign hinges upon a candidate winning in enough of the right states, not gaining support from the greatest number of voters.
Consequently, this drives candidates’ campaign strategies in the direction of so-called “battleground” states, where the voter base is more closely divided, as opposed to the most population-dense areas of the country, as would be the case under a national popular vote system.
Supporters of the Electoral College system argue that this is beneficial because it forces candidates to appeal to a broader coalition of voters from a variety of states.
“The Electoral College prevents presidential candidates from winning an election by focusing solely on high-population urban centers and dense media markets, forcing them to seek the support of a larger cross-section of the American electorate,” the Heritage Foundation — a think tank based in Washington D.C. — wrote.
“This addresses the Founders’ fears of a ‘tyranny of the majority,’ which has the potential to marginalize sizeable portions of the population, particularly in rural and more remote areas of the country,” the think tank states.
On the other hand, opponents of the institution — such as those behind the Interstate Compact — suggest that the system unfairly concentrates attention on a handful of states, allowing candidates to disregard issues important to those outside these select areas.
“Because of these state winner-take-all statutes, presidential candidates have no reason to pay attention to the issues of concern to voters in states where the statewide outcome is a foregone conclusion,” National Popular Vote — the non-profit behind the Compact — writes on their website.
“In 2016, almost all campaign events (94%) were in the 12 states where Trump’s support was between 43% and 51%,” the non-profit states. “Two-thirds of the events (273 of 399) were in just 6 states (OH, FL, VA, NC, PA, MI).”
“For many years I have thought that the electoral college had outlived its usefulness,” Rep. Bell — who sponsored LD 1578, the National Popular Vote bill — told the Maine Wire. “Extending the principle of one-person, one-vote to presidential elections is essential to the future of our democracy.”
“The National Popular Vote bill guarantees the presidency to the candidate who wins the most popular votes in all fifty states and ensures that every voter, in every state is politically relevant in every presidential election,” Bell said. “This proposal benefits every voter of every party in our state and nation.”
“My hope for the bill is that my colleagues agree to pass this critical piece of legislation,” Bell said. “By a 2 to 1 margin, American voters want a national popular vote for president. By passing this bill, Maine can do it’s part to advance the cause of our democracy — to give every Maine voter an equal voice in presidential elections.”
The Interstate Compact will go into effect if, and only if, the participating states hold a majority of the country’s electoral votes — the threshold necessary for a candidate to win the presidency — which currently comes to a total of 270.
As of now, 205 electoral votes controlled by the seventeen states that have already passed legislation signing onto the Compact.
Among the states now included in the Compact are: California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Massachusetts, Maryland, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhone Island, Vermont, and Washington.
Click Here to Read the Full Text of LD 1578
The Dems have been trying to bring down the American system from the beginning — They are still against balance of power and their new slave trade is illegal immigrants.
They never change.
If they let this happen, Maine will be sending someone to the White House who is elected by Los Angeles, New York City, Chicago, Atlanta, Philadelphia, and Houston. Your vote in Maine will not be worth the “mail in” ballot it is printed on. If the citizens of Maine fall for this crap, the US is no longer in existence. Time for Mainers to wake up and fight back!
In that case, don’t vote. Revolt.
What is wrong with Mainers?! Have they all lost their minds? Adapting California emissions and EV standards, housing for illegal aliens inBrunswick none for Mainers who are citizens. Seriously what is wrong with Maine citizens? This is disgusting. What good is the MaineGOP?
Well, it’s “commutarded”.
Arthur Bell is another Shenna Bellows to some degree meaning he smiles a lot and says nice things, but there is not too much substance behind what he is trying to do.
Useless idiots! I’m in Conservative Red Northern Maine. These massholes in southern Maine are destroying Maine. Very sad. Augusta south rots from the head down. Breaks my heart.
With 3 million illegals set to vote, this system would give the the popular vote to them. Is that what you want for this country. Then you are stupid
I’ll bet this @$$ hole is just fine with ranked choice voting. If this passes your vote means NOTHING. everything in the N.E. will be decided by N.Y.C. You can bet the life of your 1st born that if NY, LA, SF, ect, was blood red they wouldn’t even think of this. Rep. Arthur L. Bell and his ilk are traitors to the republic and their oath of office. I PRAY that they live a long, Long, LONG time in the utopia that they are trying to bring about. F.U. Arthur L. Bell.
Axylos on January 8, 2024 5:33 PM
. What good is the MaineGOP?
Nothing. They spent more effort fighting Paul LePage than they ever have Czarina Mills.
Rep. Arthur L. Bell (D-Yarmouth) needs to be tarred and feathers after being publicly wiped.
This is a tyrannical government wanting to take the vote away from the United States citizen.
Rep. Arthur L. Bell (D-Yarmouth) is a domestic enemy of the United States.
The Electoral College was a compromise adopted by the Constitutional Convention of 1787 to gain the support of the Southern slave states. It also included the 3/5’s agreement so slaves could count towards representation, Electoral College, and federal taxes. Our Constitution was written reinforcing slavery. Getting rid of the Electoral College is just another step in moving our country forward and away from our history of slavery.
Slavery ended over 150 years ago. Get over it Grove. Where do you race-baiters come from.
Adopt this and you effectively cancel Mainer’s votes, so no reason to bother with holding an election.
I wonder what Arthur Bell views are concerning the scam we now have called RANK CHOICE VOTING where you’re ‘only choices’ are between 1 conservative candidate and 3 to 5 liberal candidates, 4 of whom nobody knows anything about. This is nothing more than having big metro areas decide the outcome of an election, and small towns votes are WORTHLESS .
Perhaps it is time to start subdividing states that have dense population centers that drive the entire states political agenda. New York has been talking about this for sometime, and I know other states are as well.
Maine could be north, and south Maine giving the leftist the communist shithole, global homo, pedo, high crime state that they desire, and north Maine can be the state that Maine traditionally has been. I am sure that New Hampshire, and Vermont have ares that would join the north pact as well. This same discussion is taking place within the eastern part or Oregon where people there are tired of being railroaded by the coastal urban areas, but they are considering joining an adjoining state verses a north south separation.
Once a subdivision is accomplished no further taxation from rural areas will be possible to fund the pet projects that the global homo leftist desire leaving them to foot the entire bill, they would no longer be able to utilize the inland lakes for their water supplies thus having to create their own water supplies through desalination, or city well systems, and no trucker from North Maine would deliver supplies into South Maine…etc.
So instead of allowing the global homo leftist to further impose the sick agendas that they embrace on those who want nothing to do with this agenda, it might be time for a nasty divorce. North Maine could then build out an economy separate from the communist south Maine, build a boarder wall, its own defense, education, medical systems, etc…..
I know that this will not be heard by the global homo leftist, but remember what JFK said: those who make peaceful revolution impossible, make violent revolution inevitable. I do not know what the breaking point will be for Mainers that are not part of the leftist global homo agenda, but I do know that all peoples reach that point when they are forced to live a life that is not of their own choice.
And although I am not an attorney, I would question the constitutional legality of this popular vote concept. After all it has been clearly shown that the global homo leftist create votes out of thin air which would ensure that they would always be the winner. How very Stalinist of them.
The United States of America is a Republic: It is not a Democracy. Let us keep the Electoral College structure as it was defined as part of the foundation of our Republic. Democracy is, literally, mob rule.
this is bad , VERY BAD on so many levels !!!!!
They will do ANYTHING TO CHEAT !
Ending the Electoral College would ensure that no presidential candidate ever campaigned in Maine`s second district again. I like seeing our presidential candidates try to sell their message in small and large states.
If the democrats eliminate the Electoral College there are likely to be unintended consequences. Since the second and third largest states (TX and FL) are doubling in population every 30 years, how long would it be before the very old saying “as goes Maine, so goes the nation” becomes “as goes TX and FL, so goes Maine”?
If you genuinely believed in Democracy, you’d help abolish the electoral college and state rights. The idea of a “republic” is an old idea that WILL be erased. Most of the youth reject you boomers and your ideologies.
This giving our voting rights away to the larger cities will only assure that the Democratic party get our 4 electoral college votes every four years.
I would much rather have us, Maine voters, decide who we want to give our electoral college votes to and not have anyone else vote for us.