A bill joining Maine with states seeking to elect presidents by popular vote hit a roadblock in the Legislature Thursday.
The House voted 76-66 against the proposal, with more than 20 Democrats joining the Republican minority opposing it. The vote puts the House and Democratic-controlled Senate at odds and could ultimately kill the proposal if the two chambers cannot reconcile their differences.
The proposal seeks to overhaul the Electoral College system currently used to elect U.S. presidents. States in the popular vote compact agree to distribute their electoral votes to the candidate who wins the popular vote nationwide, even if another candidate carries the individual state. Supporters say this system would prevent repeats of the 2016 and 2000 elections in which Donald Trump and George W. Bush were elected despite losing the national popular vote. Opponents say the proposal subverts the U.S. Constitution — the system in use since the country's founding — and diminishes Maine's impact on presidential elections.
