Make the Electoral College Work For Everyone
Author: Rebecca Moryl
Every 4th of July, we celebrate the principle that all people are created equal, the importance of active participation in a democracy, and the idea that every vote counts.
Yet, you may have noticed in recent elections that not all votes count the same. Presidential elections focus on ‘battleground states,’ while the rest of the country is ignored. It seems fair that the candidate who wins the most votes nationally should win the presidency. But thanks to the way the Electoral College currently works, that isn’t always the case. In fact, in five presidential elections, the candidate who got the most votes did not win the election!
This isn’t right and it's time for a change. Change that serves the people can seem hard to come by in the U.S. these days, but there is a movement already underway that adapts the Electoral College to be more fair. So far, 17 states and DC have joined an agreement to simply award their presidential ‘electors’ to the candidate who wins the popular vote. This agreement is called the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact (NPVIC). If just a few more states join, we will truly have a system where every vote counts equally.
The NPVIC isn’t just an idea, and it isn’t hard to accomplish. We’re already nearly ¾ of the way to the number of electoral college votes needed for the popular vote to decide who wins the election. You can check if your state has joined the NPVIC at 2029.org and, if not, what you can do to join our movement and bring your state on board.
As you wish the U.S.A. a happy birthday, take a moment to celebrate your citizenship by helping to make every vote count equally! Together, we can make the 2029 election for all of us, not just the battleground states.
Project 2029 is a citizen-led initiative that develops policies and ideas that serve all Americans and address the systems that do not. Want to contribute? Join the Project 2029 Organizer’s Team. We welcome organizers with various backgrounds and skills, including policy development, volunteer management, marketing, and more. Volunteers of different skill levels and abilities are welcome to participate.
