Nevada Senate Passes Proposal To Favor Popular Vote And Drop Electoral College

With advances in technology and more access to information, there have been plenty of questions as to the relevancy of the Electoral College system in the United States. Following the 2016 presidential election, those questions seemed to intensify due to the results, with Hillary Clinton winning the popular vote but with Donald Trump winning the election because of the electoral vote.

In response, 14 states have already adopted legislation to ensure that electoral votes are allocated based on who wins the state’s popular vote and on Tuesday another state joined this effort.

Nevada passed a proposal in the State Senate that would allocate electoral votes through the popular vote. It is now on the desk of Democratic Gov. Steve Sisolak to sign into law.

The other states that have adopted similar legislation are California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington state, along with Washington, D.C. The multi-state pact is known as National Popular Vote Interstate Compact and aims to ensure the power of the popular vote as the deciding vote in major elections.

However, the pact would only be successful in its goal if it reaches 270 electoral votes. Currently, the group stands at 189 electoral votes.

It’s also worth noting that Sisolak has also been mum about the issue and it’s currently unknown if he will sign on to the pact.