L.D. 1578, titled “An Act to Adopt an Interstate Compact to Elect the President of the United States by National Popular Vote,” was approved by the Maine House on Tuesday, March 5, 2024. This act received support from all Democrats while facing opposition from Republicans, who unanimously voted against it. Interestingly, five Democrats broke party lines and joined the Republicans in voting against L.D. 1578.
The legislation advanced to the Maine Senate when Maine Senator Eric Brakey presented nearly 3,000 signed petitions by Mainers opposing the legislation. The signed petitions made little difference in the Maine Senate decision on Wednesday, March 13, 2024.
L.D. 1578 was approved with a vote of 22 yes and 13 no. The vote was divided along party lines, with all Democrats supporting the National Popular Vote and all Republicans against it. One Republican Senator, Matthew Pouliot, voted with the Democrats in favor of the proposal, while one Democratic Senator, Craig Hickman, voted with the Republicans against it.
The National Popular Vote would award the presidency to the winner of the popular vote rather than the person with the most electoral votes.
Republican Senator Stacey Guerin stated that she received hundreds of letters and emails against the National Popular Vote, with only five in favor of the move. Senator Guerin stated, “There are various reasons to reject this National Popular Vote legislation, the most significant of which is to keep smaller states like Maine relevant in national politics. Consider a U.S. presidential election without an electoral college. If only the popular vote mattered, candidates might focus their efforts on densely populated places such as New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago. This appears to be a negative shift. Candidates would have little incentive to address issues such as the state of logging in Maine’s wilderness, Second Amendment support, the opioid crisis in rural Maine, or attacks on Maine’s lobster business. The electoral college gives little states like ours greater weight in the political process than our numbers would otherwise provide. This is why I spoke and voted against the National Popular Vote Bill in the Senate today.
The National Popular Vote has been enacted by the following 16 states:
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- California
- Colorado
- Connecticut
- Delaware
- Hawaii
- Illinois
- Maryland
- Massachusetts
- Minnesota
- New Jersey
- New Mexico
- New York
- Oregon
- Rhode Island
- Vermont
- Washington
- and the District of Columbia
The National Popular Vote Act has also been approved by one legislative chamber in these seven states:
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- Arkansas
- Arizona
- Michigan
- North Carolina
- Nevada
- Oklahoma
- Virginia
