Nevada Passes Bill to Give All Electoral Votes to Winner of U.S. Popular Vote

The Nevada legislature on Thursday passed a bill that would award all the state's Electoral College votes to the presidential candidate who wins the most votes nationwide.

The aim of the so-called National Popular Vote bill is to help ensure that the candidate who wins the most popular votes wins the presidential election.

Both Donald Trump and George W. Bush won the presidency by winning a majority of Electoral votes without winning a majority of the popular vote.

If the bill becomes law, Nevada would allocate all six of it electoral votes to the winner of the national popular vote, regardless of how Nevada votes.

The state currently gives all six of its electors to the candidate with the highest number of votes in Nevada.

If Nevada's bill becomes law it would join the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact, noted Las Vegas NBC affiliate KSNV-TV.

So far 15 states and the District of Columbia, with a total of 195 Electoral College votes, have joined the compact to establish the same arrangement or Electoral votes.

Critics complain that the compact circumvents the U.S. Constitution by altering the voting system.

Electoral College votes favor smaller states, and have given an edge to Republican candidates.

Allocation of votes is based on Senate representation, and was established in part to convince states with smaller populations to join the U.S. when it was formed without fear of losing power to more heavily populated states.

Under the current arrangement, for example, each elector represents some 188,000 voters in sparsely populated Wyoming, but 677,00 voters in California.

Because Assembly Joint Resolution 6 would require an amendment to Nevada's Constitution, the legislature would have to vote on the bill again during the 2025 legislative session.

If approved again, it would be placed on the 2026 general election ballot for voters' final approval.