This letter is in response to the December 16, 2020 Alexandria Gazette article “Dropping Out of the Electoral College” about a bill before the General Assembly to have Virginia join the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact. The bill does not, in fact, propose that Virginia drop out of the Electoral College, and it does not establish a national popular vote in lieu of the Electoral College. It proposes to change the way Virginia’s Electoral College votes are cast. The Electoral College itself would remain.
Under the rules of the compact, member states pledge to cast all of their electoral votes for the winner of the national popular vote regardless of who wins the majority of votes in their own respective states.
Letter writers discuss Alzheimer’s disease research and achievements, urge others to donate to the Foodbank of Southeastern Virginia, and highlight Hungarian-born scientist Katalin Kariko's key contribution to the COVID-19 vaccines.
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Source: National Popular Vote Inc.
Virginia may be on the verge of dropping out of the Electoral College, joining a National Popular Vote Compact in an effort to ditch a presidential election system critics say is outdated and undemocratic. Once enough states have joined the compact to reach 270 electoral votes, Virginia and other states that have signed on to the agreement would award electoral votes to the winner of the national popular vote rather than the candidate who prevailed at the state level. So far, 15 states and the District of Columbia have joined the compact for a total of 196 electoral votes.
To Fix the Electoral College, Change the Way Its Votes Are Awarded With new threats of faithless legislatures ignoring the popular vote, reform is more urgent than ever. Allocating electoral votes proportionately would avoid election disasters and could have bipartisan appeal. Kevin Johnson, Election Reformers Network | December 15, 2020 | Opinion
Happily, there was no drama when the nation s presidential electors met on Monday to elect Joe Biden and Kamala Harris. Thanks in part to the Supreme Court, faithless electors did not threaten Biden s substantial lead, and no legislature ignored its state s popular vote to appoint a competing slate of electors. Some may conclude that the evils of the Electoral College have been tamed, that we can live with this creaky institution.