1. United States
2. N.C.
3. Letter

I urge you to support legislation for our state to join the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact. The principle is straightforward: the candidate who receives the most votes nationwide should become president, regardless of where those votes are cast. The current winner-take-all system can elect a president who did not win the national popular vote, as happened in 2000 and 2016. It also gives campaigns strong incentives to focus on a handful of closely divided states rather than the entire country. In 2024, seven states received 94 percent of reported general-election campaign events, according to the article I reviewed. Voters in states considered safely red or blue had far less campaign attention. A national popular vote would give candidates reason to seek support across all states. In our state, this should be a bipartisan issue. In 2012, Donald Trump said: The electoral college is a disaster for a democracy. ... A total sham and a travesty. In a 2016 “60 Minutes” interview, after winning the Electoral College, Donald Trump said he would “rather see it, where you went with simple votes” Thia shows that support for a nationwide vote has broad popular support on both sides of the aisle. The compact offers a state-based path to this reform. It would take effect only when participating states together hold enough electoral votes to determine the result. Once active, member states would appoint their electors for the candidate who wins the national popular vote. The Electoral College would remain, while its result would reflect voters’ choices nationwide. The compact is built on states’ authority to determine how their electors are appointed. Please support our state joining the compact. Every voter should count toward the outcome on equal terms, and candidates should have reason to listen to people in every state, not only a few battlegrounds. This is a practical reform that can strengthen representation and public confidence in presidential elections.