With the signing of legislation passed today, Massachusetts will become the latest state to join the National Popular Vote movement, an interstate compact among states who agree to give their electoral votes to whichever presidential candidate wins the overall popular vote. The compact will only take effect once enough states sign on so that their collective electoral votes surpass 270, the minimum number required for a presidential candidate to win. With Massachusetts joining Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, New Jersey, and Washington, that number is now up to 73. (New York’s Senate passed the bill last month, but Sheldon Silver has yet to bring it up for a vote in the Assembly.) Even though Massachusetts is one of many states routinely ignored by presidential candidates under the current system, not all the lawmakers there are comfortable with change. According to the Boston Globe, “Senate minority leader Richard Tisei said the state was meddling with a system that was ‘tried and true’ since the founding of the country.” Tried, yes. True? Is that a joke?
Mass. Legislature approves plan to bypass Electoral College [Metro Desk/Boston Globe]
