Virginia has become the latest state to join the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact, bringing the US one step closer to deciding presidential elections by popular vote. Governor Abigail Spanberger signed the bill into law, making Virginia the 18th state, along with the District of Columbia, to join the compact.
Under the agreement, states pledge to award their electoral votes to the winner of the national popular vote, regardless of the result within their own borders. The compact will only take effect when states representing a majority of the 538 electoral votes – 270 – sign up. With Virginia’s 13 electoral votes, the compact now commands 222 electors.
All states that have so far enacted the compact have Democratic majorities, including California, New York and Illinois. But legislation has been introduced in several swing states, such as Arizona, Michigan, Nevada, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, which could push the total past the 270 threshold.
The compact relies on two constitutional provisions: Article II, section 1, which allows states to appoint electors “in such manner as the legislature thereof may direct”, and Article I, section 10, which governs interstate compacts. Supporters argue that Congress does not need to approve the compact because delegating electors is a state power, not a federal one.
A 2024 Pew Research Center poll found that 63% of Americans favour replacing the electoral college with a national popular vote. Advocates point to the 2000 and 2016 elections, where the winners lost the popular vote but won the presidency. “The presidency should be won by the candidate who receives the most votes nationwide,” said Christina Harvey of Stand Up America.
