RICHMOND, Va. (WJHL) – A Virginia bill proposed for the 2020 Session would have all of the Commonwealth’s electoral votes in a presidential election go to the winner of the nation’s popular vote.
According to Virginia’s Legislative Information System, SB 399, also known as the “National Popular Vote Compact,” would enter the Commonwealth into an interstate agreement that would change the way the electoral votes are awarded to a candidate during a presidential election.
The “Agreement Among the States to Elect the President by National Popular Vote” would be backed by Article II of the Constitution of the United States, which says that states have the exclusive authority to decide on how they award their electoral votes.
Should the bill pass, Virginia would give its electoral votes to the presidential candidate who received the most popular votes in all 50 states and the District of Columbia.
The compact would go into effect when states that collectively make up the majority of the electoral votes agreed to join the compact.
The bill states that individual states would have the option to withdraw from the compact, but any withdrawal that occurred within six months of the end of a presidential term would not be effective until a president or vice president was qualified to serve the next term.
The bill was introduced by Senator Adam P. Ebbin from the 30th District (most of Alexandria and parts of Arlington and Fairfax County).
The full text of the bill can be read by clicking here.
