The New Mexico House approved a proposal on Friday that would, if enacted by enough states, effectively eliminate the Electoral College process for selecting the president of the United States.
On a largely party-line vote of 41-27, the House approved the National Popular Vote proposal — House Bill 383, sponsored by Rep. Mimi Stewart, D-Albuquerque.
“I’m thrilled that the National Popular Vote has passed the House and will now be headed to the Senate,” Stewart said in a news release. “Every vote should count equally in our country, and this vote today takes us one step closer to expanding our democracy.”
The National Popular Vote proposal takes effect only when adopted in identical form by states possessing enough electoral votes to elect the president (at least 270 of 538). States with a total of 50 electoral votes — Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland and New Jersey — have already enacted it.
If enough states agree to it, all the electoral votes from the enacting states will be awarded as a bloc to the presidential candidate who receives the most popular votes in all 50 states, which would effectively bypass the Electoral College system.
The bill is now in the hands of the Senate Judiciary Committee.