Virginia should reject NPV

Safeguarding democracy should include protecting the right of state voters to elect their presidential electors. I was one of Virginia’s electors in 2016, chosen by the people of the Commonwealth. Yet if something called National Popular Vote passes in the Virginia General Assembly, it could give that power away. I wrote about this in the Richmond Times-Dispatch.

The National Popular Vote interstate compact is not a constitutional amendment. It is a legislative workaround crafted in backrooms and sold to the public as progress. It depends on states agreeing to ignore their own voters if the national tally favors a different candidate. To me, that looks more like disenfranchisement than fairness. …

The constitutional structure of the United States protects the interests of both the majority and the minority. The NPVIC erodes that balance by centralizing power in a way our framers never intended. It would play right into Donald Trump’s claims that states are merely “agents” of the national government that must obey him. It’s the Electoral College that ensures this misreading of our constitutional order doesn’t come to pass.

If advocates of a national popular vote believe in their cause, they should seek a constitutional amendment, the legitimate path for such reform. The NPVIC is a shortcut with questionable legal footing that hopes to bypass the American people instead of persuading them. Its lobbyists tell different stories to different legislators and hope they don’t get caught.

We don’t need more gimmicks. We need open, honest dialogue about how best to represent the will of the people while protecting minority voices and smaller states. Until then, the NPVIC is a wolf in sheep’s clothing, and Virginians deserve to see its true face.

A printable version of my article is available on our resources page.