Mother Jones
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Why the Next President Could Finally Be Elected by the Popular Vote
Posted
May 14, 2026
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478,690
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May 14, 2026
478,690
49,633
3,542
11.11%
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1:58Now PlayingSomething big happened in Virginia last month that you probably missed.
On April 13, Gov. Abigail Spanberger signed a bill making Virginia the 18th state to join the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact.
That’s an agreement among states to elect the president by the popular vote rather than the Electoral College.
The compact goes into effect when enough states sign onto it and reach a total of 270 electoral votes—the number needed to elect the president.
With Virginia’s support, states in the compact now have 222 electoral votes. And the results of the midterms could push the popular vote effort over the top.
If Democrats take control of state governments in Michigan, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Nevada, or Arizona, and legislatures in those states adopt the compact, that would put it over 270.
That means there’s actually a chance the president could be elected by the popular vote in 2028 instead of the fundamentally undemocratic Electoral College.
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