Maine joins effort to elect president by popular vote with new law 

Maine will become the latest state to join an interstate effort to elect the president by popular vote, Gov. Janet Mills (D) announced Monday.

mills said she forgives law Law enacted without her signature, paving the way for Maine to join. National Popular Vote Interstate Compacta proposal designed to guarantee the presidency to the candidate who receives the most votes in all 50 states and the District of Columbia.

Under the proposal, each state would award all its electoral votes to the candidate who wins the national popular vote for president, regardless of how that state voted in the election.

However, the deal is on hold and will not be implemented in elections this November, the Associated Press reported.

Mills said the proposal would require state pledges equal to at least 270 electoral votes needed to elect the president. The governor added that 16 states and Washington, D.C., are already part of the deal, and with the addition of Maine, the law would give them 209 electors so far.

It was not immediately clear whether parliamentary approval would be required for the deal to go into effect.

In explaining his decision, Mills said he was aware that enactment of the bill was “not irreversible” and would not go into effect until at least 61 additional electors approve it.

Mills spent several days reviewing the bill and hearing arguments from both sides. Ultimately, she said, “I’m having a hard time.”[d] This is to reconcile the fact that a candidate who actually receives fewer votes than his opponent can become commander in chief.

Mills said opponents of the law expressed concerns about whether presidential candidates would continue to visit Maine, knowing that it would “reduce their chances of winning the electorate.” The governor said he was aware of those concerns, but noted that candidates could spend more time in each state because all votes are counted equally.

Supporters of the law noted that two of the past four presidents won the Oval Office despite receiving fewer popular votes.

“Although some argue that this measure weakens the influence of rural voters, ultimately this measure means that whether a voter is a rural, urban, or suburban resident, each vote carries equal weight.” “This would increase fairness among voters,” Mills said. “I think there is merit to both arguments.”

“We still recognize that there is merit on both sides of the debate and recognize that this measure has been the subject of public debate many times before in Maine, and we recognize that this measure has been the subject of public debate many times before in Maine and that I want the debate to continue, so I am allowing this bill to become law without my signature,” she continued.

According to the Associated Press, Maine is one of only two states with a split electoral vote. Of the four electoral votes, he gives two votes to the statewide presidential winner and one vote each to the winner of each congressional district.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.