The LWV has a long history with election of the president by popular vote starting in 1970 and since 2010 has endorsed the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact as a first step in the overall effort to abolish the Electoral College.

In 2024 the League announced its One Person/One Vote campaign.

“The One Person One Vote campaign aims to educate, engage, and activate the American people.”

To achieve a new system for electing future presidents by direct popular vote, we must use a multi-pronged approach to:

· Educate, engage, and activate communities to support a constitutional amendment to abolish the Electoral College;
· Inform voters on how the Electoral Count Reform Act (ERCA) will impact the future elections; and
· Pass the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact by 2028.

“One Person One Vote will move our nation beyond the archaic Electoral College and toward true representation — a democracy powered by the people, for the people.”

The National Popular Vote Interstate Compact is a constitutionally conservative, state-based, nonpartisan approach begun in 2006 that retains the Electoral College and the power of the states to control how the President is elected. The compact will go into effect when states representing 270 electoral votes join via legislation. The compact will make every person’s vote equal throughout the United States and ensure that every vote, in every state, will be politically relevant in every presidential election. In the simplest terms with the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact our country will add up all the votes, treat every vote equally, most votes wins: simple, fair and the way every other election is held.

Our league established a National Popular Vote Action Team in 2021 and in 2024 renamed it the Election of the President by Popular Vote Action Team in 2024 to match that statewide EPPV Action Team.

Our goals are to:

· Educate league members and the public about the problems with the Electoral College and the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact as an interim measure through presentations, social media, letters to the editor, opinion pieces, and other means
· Encouraging the North Carolina General Assembly to adopt the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact.
· Work with other leagues through the state action team to share resources, ideas, and actions.

We are happy to provide a presentation in person or via Zoom to groups of any size. These can be a PowerPoint presentation or a more informal one. Contact Suzanne Fisher (suzanne2001@gmail.com) if you are interested.

Resources for more information:

· The National Popular Vote Interstate Compact website has a wealth of information including answers to myths, suggestions for letters to the editor, videos, and an easy way to contact legislators.

Opinion pieces from the Asheville Citizen Times:

· Oct. 2024 Asheville Citizen Times Opinion piece
· Sept. 2024 Asheville Citizen Times Opinion piece
· March 2023 Asheville Citizen Times Opinion piece

Suggested reading Let the People Pick by President: The Case for Abolishing the Electoral College by Jesse Wegman; Interview

Videos:

· Electoral College 101 with Mo Rocca (note this is from 2016) nytimes.com/2016/10/21/learning/teaching-with-electoral-college-101.html
· Is America Ready to bid the Electoral College Farewell (Daily Show 2024) youtube.com/watch?v=frG6JcGVF10&t.

House Bill 191

HB 191 “AN ACT TO ESTABLISH NORTH CAROLINA AS A MEMBER OF THE AGREEMENT AMONG THE STATES TO ELECT THE PRESIDENT BY NATIONAL POPULAR VOTE” was filed in the North Carolina General Assembly on February 23rd. Read about this landmark bill here.

Many thanks to sponsor Representative Kelly Alexander, Jr. and co-sponsors Representatives John Autry, Pricey Harrison, Abe Jones, Carolyn Logan, Marvin Lucas, Nasif Majeed, and Caleb Rudow – who represents part of Buncombe County!

Our National Popular Vote Action Team will be working to encourage more co-sponsors, have a similar bill filed in the Senate, have a hearing, and move the bill to a vote in both chambers. North Carolina joins over a dozen states that have bills filed in at least one legislative chamber this year.