(TheRedWire.com) – On Monday, Maine is going to become the latest nation to join the efforts to have the United States’ president be elected by popular vote.
Gov. Janet Mills (D) stated that she would allow the legislation to turn into law without requiring her signature. This would open the way for Maine to become part of the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact, which is a proposal that aims to change the presidential election to a popular vote in the District of Columbia and all 50 states.
The proposal allows each state to hand its electoral college votes to the candidate that wins the popular vote, regardless of how each individual state voted. However, this compact is on hold and would not be applicable in the November election.
In order for the proposal to receive state pledges it would need to gather at least 270 electoral votes, much like any elected president needs to gather that amount of votes. Washington, D.C., and sixteen other states have already joined the compact which brings the total number of electoral votes currently to 209.
It is not yet clear whether the implementation of the compact would require congressional approval. When explaining the reasoning behind her decision Mills argued that she was aware that the measure being enacted was “not irreversible” and that nothing would go into effect until it was approved by at least 61 additional electoral votes.
Mills had spent a number of days in which she heard arguments from both sides, arguing that she had “struggle[d] to reconcile” with the fact that it was possible for the President to be the candidate that had received fewer votes.
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