National Popular Vote

The candidate elected to the U.S. presidency does not necessarily have to win a majority-or plurality-of the popular vote. Instead, the winner is the candidate who receives a majority of votes from the electoral college.

While the winner of the electoral college is typically the winner of the popular vote, the winner lost the popular vote in 1824, 1876, 1888, 2000 and 2016. To learn more about the electoral college see NCSL's page The Electoral College .

The National Popular Vote (NPV) Interstate Compact seeks to ensure that the presidential candidate who wins the most popular votes nationwide is elected president. When a state enacts legislation to join the compact, it pledges that all of that state's electoral votes will be given to whichever presidential candidate wins the popular vote nationwide, rather than the candidate who won the vote in just that state. These bills only take effect when states with a majority of the electoral votes (270 of the 538 total) enact similar legislation to join the compact. 

State Action on National Popular Vote

Since 2006, every state legislature has considered an NPV bill. Some legislation has sought to rescind commitments to the NPV compact, although none of these bills have been enacted.

Enacted

To date, 18 states and the District of Columbia have passed NPV bills into law:

• 2026: Virginia
• 2024: Maine
• 2023: Minnesota
• 2019: Colorado, Delaware, New Mexico and Oregon
• 2018: Connecticut
• 2016: New York made its participation in the compact permanent (previously the state had to renew its participation)
• 2014: New York
• 2013: Rhode Island
• 2011: California and Vermont
• 2010: Massachusetts and D.C.
• 2009: Washington
• 2008: Hawaii and Illinois
• 2007: Maryland and New Jersey

See NCSL's  elections legislation database  for more information on states currently considering NPV legislation. 

Vetoed

• In 2019, the governor vetoed NPV legislation in Nevada.
• NPV bills were vetoed in Rhode Island and Vermont in 2008, but enacted in 2013 and 2011 respectively. 
• An NPV bill was vetoed in Hawaii in 2007. The veto of a second NPV bill was eventually overridden by the Hawaii Legislature in 2008. 
• The California legislature passed NPV legislation in 2006 and 2008, but it was vetoed by the governor.  An NPV bill was finally enacted in California in 2011.

Note: This page should be used for general informational purposes only.

Our organization does not run elections and cannot provide legal advice. If you are a voter looking for assistance, please contact your local election official. You can find your local election official's website and contact information by using this database from the US Vote Foundation.