Democratic Leaders Weigh National Popular Vote Compact After Winning Five Swing States

Nevada's incoming Democratic governor, Aaron Ford, and Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro said this week that they support moving the country to a national popular vote, after Democrats won full control of state government in Arizona, Michigan, Nevada, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. Ford told Nevada station KOLO he now backs joining the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact. Shapiro told a Crooked Media conference in Washington on Nov. 7 that he would work with lawmakers on the right mechanism. The compact takes effect only once member states hold 270 of the 538 electoral votes. Eighteen states and the District of Columbia, with 222 electoral votes, have joined since 2007. The five swing states would push the total past 270, one report calculated 283 with all 23 states. Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers, a Democrat, said he thinks the present system works and that other matters are more pressing. The idea faces constitutional questions, and one report noted it could be undone if Republicans regain legislatures.

Left-leaning outlets frame the compact as newly within reach. The New Republic leads with Ford, quoting his view that the Electoral College has racist origins, and notes constitutional hurdles. Vox explains the mechanics and leads with Akhil Amar, who proposed the approach in 2001 and now fears it could go badly wrong. Right-leaning Townhall leads instead with Evers' caution, calling the compact an unconstitutional backdoor that disenfranchises Republican voters. It treats Evers' remarks as a rebuke to fellow Democrats and does not feature Ford or Shapiro. Both sides report that Democrats now control the relevant states and describe the compact the same way. They differ on whom they quote and on whether the plan is a legitimate reform or an illegitimate workaround. ZeroHedge and The Lever largely echo the left's focus on Shapiro and the vote math.