Should someone else’s vote count more than yours?

For 80% of Americans, that’s exactly what’s happening. Their vote for president isn’t nearly as valuable as the vote of someone in a so-called “swing state.” Why?

Most Americans live in states that have become so predictably Democratic or Republican that candidates take voters for granted. Presidential elections now turn on the dwindling number of swing states that could go either way, giving in turn, voters in these states huge leverage.

The 2020 election came down to just over 40,000 votes spread across just three swing states. 2016 came down to fewer than 80,000 votes also across three states. Yet, in each of those elections, the national popular vote wasn’t even close.

In fact, in the last five elections, the winners of the popular vote beat their opponents by an average of 5 million votes. This means the current state-by-state, electoral college system of electing presidents is creating ever-closer contests in an ever-smaller number of closely divided states for elections that aren’t actually close.

Making it worse, the current system presents a growing threat to the peaceful transition of power. These razor-thin swing state margins can invite post-election recounts, audits, and lawsuits -- even attempted coups -- because a losing candidate might be able to actually overturn 40,000 votes with these techniques. Overturning 5 million votes would be nearly impossible.

And it’s become more and more likely that candidates are elected president without winning the most votes nationwide. It’s already happened twice this century, in 2000 and 2016.It doesn’t have to be this way any more. We can pass the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact and get started saving our democracy now.

Here’s how the National Popular Vote Compact works: If enough states agree to assign their Electoral College electors to the winner of the national popular vote in presidential races, rather than the state’s own popular vote -- we can guarantee the presidency to the candidate who receives the most popular votes nationwide without needing to amend the Constitution.

The compact won’t take effect until enough states have joined to guarantee Electoral College victory to the popular vote winner. So far, fifteen states and D.C. have already signed on, totaling 195 Electoral College votes out of the 270 needed to secure a national popular vote victory.

Naturally, this plan will face legal challenges. There are a lot of powerful interests who stand to benefit by maintaining the current system. But whether it’s the Electoral College or the Senate Filibuster, if there’s one thing we’ve learned over the last several presidencies, it’s that democracy isn’t democracy when controlled by minority rule.

With enough states on board, we can make sure America never again elects a president who loses the national popular vote.

No longer would 80 percent of us be effectively disenfranchised from presidential campaigns. And a handful of votes in swing states would no longer determine the winner -- inviting recounts, audits, litigation, and attempted coups that threaten our democracy.

It’s time to make sure the candidate who gets the most votes wins. Check out our video for all the details and then support the campaign to elect the president by national popular vote by adding your name now.