Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger has signed legislation enrolling the state in the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact, an agreement under which participating states would award their Electoral College votes to the winner of the nationwide popular vote once enough jurisdictions join to reach 270 electoral votes.
Virginia has become the latest state to join the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact after Gov. Abigail Spanberger signed the measure into law on Monday.
The compact is a state-by-state effort to guarantee the presidency to the candidate who wins the most votes nationwide, while leaving the Electoral College in place. Member states agree to award all of their electoral votes to the national popular vote winner, but the agreement is designed to take effect only after participating jurisdictions collectively control at least 270 electoral votes — the number needed to elect a president.
With Virginia’s 13 electoral votes, the compact now includes 18 states plus the District of Columbia, totaling 222 electoral votes.
The legislation has been pursued in Virginia for years. Democratic Del. Dan Helmer told NPR the push to join the compact has been at least a decade in the making, and he framed the effort as part of a broader response to what he described as current threats to democratic governance.
Supporters argue the compact would reduce the incentives for presidential campaigns to focus on a small set of swing states, while critics question the approach and have raised legal concerns about interstate compacts and how such an agreement would operate in a contested election.
