This concept would work only if states with a combined 270 or more electors agreed to the compact; ideally, it eventually would include all states and all electors.
There are many advantages to the NPV solution. Every vote in the country would matter equally, no matter where it was cast. Thus, competitive areas and swing voters in otherwise very "red" or "blue" states would receive attention from both parties. Most states, including Maryland, are now eliminated from electoral consideration well before November.
"More money was spent in 2000 on political ads just in Florida than in 46 other states and D.C. combined," laments Senator Raskin.
NPV would change that. And because a nationwide tie is far less likely than a statewide tie, the chances of a Florida-style recount fiasco would drop significantly.
Those worried that Democrats would be favored by NPV, given Mr. Gore's 2000 fate, should remember that in 2004, Mr. Kerry came within one state (Ohio) of winning the Electoral College despite losing by a national popular vote margin five times the margin by which Mr. Bush lost to Mr. Gore. (Not many Republicans would have been singing the praises of the Electoral College had Mr. Kerry lost by 2.4 percent nationally and become the 44th president anyway.)
The real beauty of NPV is that the compact is triggered only if a group of states with a combined 270 or more electors join together. After all, no state wants to unilaterally disenfranchise its voters by agreeing to assign its electors based on the national, rather than statewide, outcomes.
The Raskin-sponsored bill passed by the Maryland legislature and signed by Gov. Martin O'Malley last April will not take effect this year, because so far, only New Jersey has joined Maryland in approving NPV legislation (though numerous other states have seen action in at least one house of the legislature).
"The current system is complex and offends our most deeply held democratic values," Mr. Raskin told me, citing polls on NPV's Web site showing 70 percent of Americans want a direct national popular vote. "But to pass this, you need to educate people."
Thomas F. Schaller teaches political science at UMBC. His column appears on alternate Wednesdays in The Sun. His e-mail is schaller67@gmail.com.
