Durbin announces push for national popular vote legislation

Urges states to join compact committing to winner of the national popular vote

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today announced a renewed effort to amend the U.S. Constitution to honor the principle of “one person, one vote” in the election of U.S. President and Vice President. Durbin first proposed this constitutional amendment in 2000 and has supported it regardless of the outcome in previous presidential elections. Republican Congressman Ray LaHood joined Durbin in his earlier efforts.

Noting the challenges of passing a constitutional amendment, Durbin also called on states to join the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact, which would require each state’s electors to cast a ballot in favor of the candidate who won the national popular vote.

“Twice in recent memory, a majority of American voters cast their vote for the losing presidential candidate. This is certainly not what the Founders intended. It’s time to retire this 18^th century invention that disenfranchises millions of Americans,” said Senator Durbin. “The American people deserve to choose all of their leaders, and I will continue to support efforts to empower voters. We face an uphill battle in Congress, but states have the power to act now by adopting the Compact and committing their electors to the candidate chosen by the voters.”

So far, 11 jurisdictions have entered the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact: Illinois, California, the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Massachusetts, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Washington. These jurisdictions represent a total of 165 Electoral College votes. The National Popular Vote Interstate Compact will take effect when enough states have joined the Compact to represent a majority of electoral votes (270 of 538).

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