The Maine House of Representatives has voted to withdraw from the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact, an agreement into which Maine entered during the previous legislative session.
The National Popular Vote Interstate Compact is an agreement among the states that could bring about sweeping changes to how the President of the United States is elected.
If enough states were to join the Compact, it would effectively override the electoral college by guaranteeing that the winner of the national popular vote would always be elected president, regardless of who earned the most electoral votes.
By joining this Compact a year ago, Maine’s four electoral votes could eventually be awarded to whichever presidential candidate garners the most votes nationwide, irrespective of who the majority of Mainers vote for at the ballot box.
[RELATED: Maine Joins the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact]
Once Maine officially became a part of the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact, the coalition represented a total of 209 electoral votes — out of 538 in total.
Among the states that have also signed the Compact are: California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Massachusetts, Maryland, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhone Island, Vermont, and Washington. These are all predominantly “blue,” or Democrat-leaning, states.
[RELATED: Mainers Debate Potential Withdrawal from the National Popular Vote Compact]
Rep. Barbara Bagshaw (R-Windham), the primary sponsor of LD 252, explained that her bill is “rooted in one simple principle: our electoral vote should reflect the will of Maine voters, not the voters of other states.”
By adhering to a national popular vote model, she argued that Maine would be “effectively silencing our own distinct voice.”
In testifying on behalf of her bill, Bagshaw went on to suggest that a national popular vote system would ask Mainers to “blind[ly] place trust in an election system they didn’t vote for and cannot oversee,” as their electoral votes would be determined by the outcome of other states’ elections.
Consequently, she asserted that repealing the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact would “restore clarity, consistency, and confidence” in our presidential election system” and “return our state to a system that respects the will of our people.”
Under a national popular vote model, Bagshaw explained, “larger states are going to be making the decisions and we’ll just be handing over the electors.”
[RELATED: Maine Republicans Seek to Withdraw from National Popular Vote Interstate Compact]
Rep. Laura D. Supica (D-Bangor) opened the floor debate Tuesday by moving the Veterans and Legal Affairs Committee’s minority Ought Not to Pass report, prompting criticism from Rep. Shelley Rudnicki (R-Fairfield) for dealing a “poke in the eye to the committees” by attempting to override their recommendation.
“Just because” the House chair of the Committee signed onto the minority report, Rep. Rudnicki argued, it does not mean that it should be moved in favor of the bipartisan majority report.
Rep. Marygrace Caroline Cimino (R-Bridgton), who was reprimanded for allegedly questioning the motives of other legislators, also critiqued the decision to attempt passage of the minority report.
“We finally get a consensus on a bill that both Democrats and Republicans support, and then we come into this body and the minority report is moved,” she said.
Both those supporting and opposing Maine’s participation in the Compact argued that their positioning was driven by a desire to ensure effective representation in presidential elections.
While those in support of the Compact relied heavily on the idea of one person one vote, those in opposition highlighted how the electoral college gives Maine a more substantial voice in determining America’s president.
“Maine’s impact as a state is nearly double what it would be under the National Popular Vote,” said Rep. David Boyer (R-Poland). “If it’s selfish, I’m happy to be selfish for Maine.”
Rep. Sean Faircloth (D-Bangor), on the other hand, criticized the electoral college for allowing a handful of swing states to, by a “coincidence of demographics,” consistently determine who is chosen to serve as the President of the United States.
“We have to obey the system that we have,” said Rep. Faircloth. “[But] I am sympathetic with people who many of us have heard people sometimes say: ‘My vote just doesn’t matter.’” Faircloth then noted that the “popular vote loser” has twice this century become president as a result of the electoral college.
Faircloth also cited polling data suggesting that support for determining the president by a popular vote tally enjoys support across both partisan and geographical lines in Maine.
Rep. Michael Soboleski (R-Phillips), however, later cited polling data from the University of New Hampshire’s Pine Tree State Poll from August 2024 which showed a much lower level of support for the National Popular Vote Compact among Mainers.
According to prior coverage of this poll by the Maine Wire, 35 percent of Mainers indicated support for the state’s decision to join this Compact, 37 percent expressed opposition.
When broken down by party identification, however, a stark divide emerges, with 69 percent of Democrats supporting the Compact and 73 percent of Republicans opposing it.
Among Independents, a plurality of 43 percent expressed opposition to Maine’s decision to join the Compact, compared to just 16 percent that supported it. 33 percent of Independents said they felt neutral about it.
[RELATED: Mainers Split Over National Popular Vote Compact, Electoral Vote Distribution: Pine Tree State Poll]
Rep. Ambureen Rana (D-Bangor) heavily criticized the electoral college as an institution, calling it a “stain on our history” due to its “racist history,” as she explained that it was originally developed with the intention of increasing the power of slave states.
“[The National Popular Vote Interstate Compact] ensures that every American’s vote matters and undoes the injustice of the electoral college,” Rep. Rana argued.
Members of the House voted to reject the Committee’s minority Ought Not to Pass report in a roll call vote of 76-71, with a handful of Democrats voting alongside Republicans in opposition to the motion.
Rep. Supica then moved the Committee’s majority Ought to Pass report which was then accepted without a roll call. This bill will now be sent to the Senate for concurrence.
