House Delays Vote on Joining the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact

Lawmakers in the Maine House of Representatives have postponed consideration of a proposal to sign onto the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact, an agreement that could bring about sweeping changes to how the President of the United States is elected.

The National Popular Vote Interstate Compact, if approved, would award the state’s four electoral votes to whichever candidate garners the most popular votes nationwide, irrespective of who the majority of Mainers voted for at the ballot box.

LD 1578 — An Act to Adopt an Interstate Compact to Elect the President of the United States by National Popular Vote — sponsored by Rep. Arthur L. Bell (D-Yarmouth) was introduced during the first legislative session and carried over to this year.

Although the House was scheduled to cast a final vote on the bill Tuesday, Rep. Maureen Terry (D-Gorham) requested during Tuesday’s session that the legislation be tabled for the time being. Rep. Billy Bob Faulkingham (R-Winter Harbor) then asked for a roll call on this motion.

With a nearly party-line vote of 74-63, Rep. Terry’s motion to table the bill prevailed, successfully delaying the chamber’s consideration of the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact until a later date. 14 lawmakers were absent at the time of this vote.

All House Republicans were in opposition to postponing the vote, as was Rep. Anne-Marie Mastraccio (D-Sanford). Every other Democrat member of the House supported the delay, in addition to both Independents serving in the chamber — Rep. William D. Pluecker (I-Warren) and Rep. Walter N. Riseman (I-Harrison).

⚡The NPV Vote scheduled for today has been tabled.

Rep. Katrina Smith reacted to the decision:

"When we were about to vote on this the Democrats tabled it!! Our lives are just a game to them!" https://t.co/W6pDNjkD54

— The Maine Wire (@TheMaineWire) March 19, 2024

On February 29 of this year, the Veterans and Legal Affairs Committee released its majority report on this measure — signed by five lawmakers — recommending that the Legislature vote down this bill.

Signing onto the Majority Ought Not to Pass Report were Rep. John Andrews (R-Paris), Rep. David W. Boyer Jr. (R-Poland), Rep. Benjamin C. Hymes (R-Waldo), Rep. Karen L. Montell (D-Gardiner), Rep. Shelley Rudnicki (R-Fairfield), and Sen. Jeff Timberlake (R-Androscoggin).

Four members of the Committee supported the bill’s passage, including Rep. Laura D. Supica (D-Bangor), Rep. Benjamin T. Collings (D-Portland), Rep. Marc G. Malon II (D-Biddeford), Rep. Morgan J. Rielly (D-Westbrook), and Rep. Lynne A. Williams (D-Bar Harbor).

The two remaining Committee members — Sen. Craig Hickman (D-Kennebec) and Sen. Stacy Brenner (D-Cumberland) — supported a version of the bill that would have given Maine voters the final say on whether or not to join the Compact in a statewide referendum vote in November.

[RELATED: Maine Moves One Step Closer to Joining the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact]

It is not immediately clear at this time when the House will again consider LD 1578 and vote on whether or not the state should sign onto the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact.

The Compact will go into effect if, and only if, the participating states hold a majority of the country’s electoral votes — the threshold necessary for a candidate to win the presidency — which currently comes to a total of 270.

As of now, 205 electoral votes controlled by the seventeen states that have already passed legislation signing onto the Compact.

Among the states now included in the Compact are: California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Massachusetts, Maryland, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Washington.