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National Popular Vote
Five U.S. presidents – most recently Donald Trump and George W. Bush – took office even though they lost the national popular vote.
The Electoral College is an anachronism of our electoral system, where a candidate wins an entire state’s electoral votes even if the race is very close. This “winner-take-all” system leads to candidates visiting only battleground states. In the 2012, 2016, and 2020 presidential elections, 96% of campaign events were staged in just 12 states, while 25 states had no events at all.
The League of Women Voters nationally supports passage of the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact, which would require each state’s electors to vote for the presidential candidate who wins the popular vote in the nation, rather than in the state. The League also supports abolishing the Electoral College by a constitutional amendment – a “moonshot” goal that it acknowledges could take 50 years.
Our Oak Park-River Forest board member Barbara Paterick has been involved in the National Popular Vote campaign for more than five years and has elevated the issue among our local membership.
Before moving to Oak Park in 2022, Barbara was involved in local and statewide chapters in Wisconsin and Florida, where she and her family have spent time for more than 20 years. She also became active in the national organization National Popular Vote, which has been conducting grass-roots campaigns on a state-by-state basis. The compact has been enacted by 16 states, including the District of Columbia, representing 205 electoral votes. It requires an additional 65 electoral votes to go into effect. Passing the compact will allow the candidate with the most votes nationally to become president without changing the Constitution.
Illinois adopted the compact in 2008 and was the third state to pass the measure. Even though it was passed in Illinois, most people don’t really know what it is and why it’s important, Barbara says.
Barbara and Beverly Tuck, co-chairs of the committee that presents Second Tuesday events, incorporated the National Popular Vote as part of a larger theme this year, “making every vote count.” The September kickoff event they planned explored ranked choice and Top Five voting, reforms that would result in more democratic election systems. The October Second Tuesday program featured a representative from the state League’s Electoral College committee who explained how direct election of the president would better reflect every voter’s choice.
In November, Barbara, who also is a member of the U.S. League’s National Popular Vote task force, explained the League’s five-phase “moonshot” program, which starts with implementation of the National Popular Vote. The resulting lively question and answer discussion suggested the need for more programs on the issue. As a result, Barbara and Beverly will team with Belinda Lutz-Hamel who chairs the evening Drinks & Dialogue program, for a May discussion. More information to come.
In the meantime, please read and share the attached summary on the National Popular Vote. It’s a precise distillation of the issue and will be useful to voters whether they live in a state that has passed it, such as Illinois, or one that has not, such as Wisconsin and Michigan. For more information, please contact Barbara Paterick.
Please download this flyer to read and share with friends and family.
Judith Crown
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