National popular vote allows every vote to count

To the Editor;

When Americans vote in elections, we expect that the candidate who gets the most votes is the winner of the election. The one exception is the way we elect our presidents. The current system of electing the president does not reflect the votes of all Americans. It allows too many of our presidential candidates to take office without the support of a majority of voters.

Maine has an opportunity to join with many other states in the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact, which will go into effect when enacted by states whose electoral college votes add up to a majority of 270 out of 538. The National Popular Vote bill will guarantee the presidency to the candidate who receives the most popular votes in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. The NPV makes every person’s vote equal throughout the United States and truly represents the vote of We the People. The NPV will encourage candidates to appeal to voters throughout the country and not just to the handful of swing votes in battleground states.

The National Popular Vote compact does not change anything in the U.S. Constitution or the Electoral College; it simply allows every vote for president of the United States to count. 

Carole Boothroyd

Dover-Foxcroft