Bill to elect president by popular vote winner introduced to Assembly
CARSON CITY — A state lawmaker on Friday introduced a bill that seeks to elect the president by the overall popular vote.
Assembly Bill 274 by Assemblyman Nelson Araujo, D-Las Vegas, would enact the “Agreement Among the States to Elect the President by National Popular Vote.”
The bill would make the electors identified with the president and vice president who win the national popular vote the official presidential electors for each state.
The provisions of the bill would become effective on the date that states with enough electoral votes to constitute a majority of the electoral votes, 270 of 538, adopt the agreement.
The bill has been enacted by 11 jurisdictions possessing 165 electoral votes—61 percent of the 270 electoral votes necessary to activate it.
The debate over how to elect the president emerged again in the 2016 general election, when Republican Donald Trump won enough electoral votes to become president, but Democrat Hillary Clinton won the popular vote.
Critics of the proposal say the current system works fine, and that the change would give too much power to populous states like California and Florida.”
Contact Sean Whaley at swhaley@reviewjournal.com or 775-461-3820. Follow @seanw801 on Twitter.
