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H 7783Elections & Voting

Elections - Agreement Among the States to Elect the President by National Popular Vote

This bill removes Rhode Island from the agreement to award presidential electoral votes to the winner of the national popular vote.

Held for study
Population
Affected
85
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Introduced Feb 12, 2026Committee House State Government & Elections

Plain-English Summary

This bill repeals the "Agreement Among the States to Elect the President by National Popular Vote," also known as the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact. Currently, this law stipulates that Rhode Island would award its electoral votes to the winner of the national popular vote once enough states join the compact. By repealing this chapter in its entirety, Rhode Island withdraws from this agreement. Consequently, the state's electoral votes will continue to be awarded based on the state-level winner, regardless of the national popular vote total.

For younger readers

When we vote for President, states use a system called the Electoral College. Right now, Rhode Island has a law that says if enough other states agree, we will give our votes to the person who gets the most votes in the whole country, not just in our state. This new bill cancels that law. It means Rhode Island would stop being part of that group and would go back to deciding its own votes based on who wins inside Rhode Island.

Who & Where It Applies

Impacted groups
VotersPresidential CandidatesPolitical PartiesElectoral College ElectorsState Election Officials
Impacted communities
All

Constitutional & Fiscal Check

None Likely

Estimated cost
None
Estimated revenue
None

Bill Analysis

Both viewpoints
For Progressives
  • Ensures that the specific will of Rhode Island voters is directly reflected in the Electoral College, preventing a scenario where the state's electors are forced to support a candidate rejected by the local population.
  • Protects the state's autonomy by withdrawing from an interstate compact that arguably bypasses the traditional Constitutional amendment process for changing federal elections, ensuring systemic reforms happen through established federal channels.
  • Avoids potential legal instability and voter disenfranchisement that could occur if the compact were activated and subsequently challenged or struck down by the Supreme Court during a contentious election.
  • Reinforces the Electoral College system, which has historically allowed candidates to win the presidency without winning the popular vote, undermining the democratic principle of "one person, one vote."
  • Reduces the likelihood of presidential candidates campaigning in Rhode Island or addressing local issues, as the state is not considered a "swing state" under the current winner-take-all system.
  • Signals a retreat from systemic electoral reform efforts designed to ensure that the candidate supported by the majority of American voters actually takes office, regardless of geography.
For Conservatives
  • Preserves the traditional Electoral College system established by the Founding Fathers, ensuring that smaller states like Rhode Island maintain their distinct constitutional role in selecting the President.
  • Protects the sovereignty of Rhode Island voters by ensuring their electoral votes are awarded based on the state's decision, rather than being dictated by the voting population of large states like California or New York.
  • Upholds the rule of law by rejecting a compact that attempts to circumvent the Constitutional amendment process required to change the method of electing the President.
  • Removes a mechanism that could theoretically benefit a conservative candidate if they won the national popular vote but faced an "inverted" Electoral College map disadvantage in a future election cycle.
  • Reduces the state's ability to coordinate binding agreements with other states, potentially setting a precedent that weakens the power of interstate compacts for other state-rights issues.
  • Decreases the theoretical incentive for national campaigns to spend resources mobilizing conservative voters in deep blue states like Rhode Island, as those votes no longer contribute to a national total for electoral allocation.

Votes

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Full Bill Text

Changes to existing Rhode Island law · 80 deletions

SECTION 1. Chapter 17-4.2 of the General Laws entitled "Agreement Among the States to Elect the President by National Popular Vote" is hereby repealed in its entirety. 17-4.2-1. Compact enacted. The interstate compact entitled the “Agreement Among the States to Elect the President by National Popular Vote” is hereby enacted into law and entered into with all other jurisdictions legally joining therein in the form substantially as follows: ARTICLE I. MEMBERSHIP. Any state of the United States and the District of Columbia may become a member of this agreement by enacting this agreement. ARTICLE II. RIGHT OF THE PEOPLE IN MEMBER STATES TO VOTE FOR PRESIDENT AND VICE PRESIDENT. Each member state shall conduct a statewide popular election for president and vice president of the United States. ARTICLE III. MANNER OF APPOINTING PRESIDENTIAL ELECTORS IN MEMBER STATES. Prior to the time set by law for the meeting and voting by the presidential electors, the chief election official of each member state shall determine the number of votes for each presidential slate in each state of the United States and in the District of Columbia in which votes have been cast in a statewide popular election and shall add such votes together to produce a “national popular vote total” for each presidential slate. The chief election official of each member state shall designate the presidential slate with the largest national popular vote total as the “national popular vote winner.” The presidential elector certifying official of each member state shall certify the appointment in that official’s own state of the elector slate nominated in that state in association with the national popular vote winner. At least six (6) days before the day fixed by law for the meeting and voting by the presidential electors, each member state shall make a final determination of the number of popular votes cast in the state for each presidential slate and shall communicate an official statement of such determination within twenty-four (24) hours to the chief election official of each other member state. The chief election official of each member state shall treat as conclusive an official statement containing the number of popular votes in a state for each presidential slate made by the day established by federal law for making a state’s final determination conclusive as to the counting of electoral votes by Congress. In event of a tie for the national popular vote winner, the presidential elector certifying official of each member state shall certify the appointment of the elector slate nominated in association with the presidential slate receiving the largest number of popular votes within that official’s own state. If, for any reason, the number of presidential electors nominated in a member state in association with the national popular vote winner is less than or greater than that state’s number of electoral votes, the presidential candidate on the presidential slate that has been designated as the national popular vote winner shall have the power to nominate the presidential electors for that state and that state’s presidential elector certifying official shall certify the appointment of such nominees. The chief election official of each member state shall immediately release to the public all vote counts or statements of votes as they are determined or obtained. This article shall govern the appointment of presidential electors in each member state in any year in which this agreement is, on July 20, in effect in states cumulatively possessing a majority of the electoral votes. ARTICLE IV. OTHER PROVISIONS. This agreement shall take effect when states cumulatively possessing a majority of the electoral votes have enacted this agreement in substantially the same form and the enactments by such states have taken effect in each state. Any member state may withdraw from this agreement, except that a withdrawal occurring six (6) months or less before the end of a president’s term shall not become effective until a president or vice president shall have been qualified to serve the next term. The chief executive of each member state shall promptly notify the chief executive of all other states of when this agreement has been enacted and has taken effect in that official’s state, when the state has withdrawn from this agreement, and when this agreement takes effect generally. This agreement shall terminate if the electoral college is abolished. If any provision of this agreement is held invalid, the remaining provisions shall not be affected. ARTICLE V. DEFINITIONS. For purposes of this agreement:

(1) “Chief executive” shall mean the governor of a state of the United States or the mayor of the District of Columbia;

(2) “Elector slate” shall mean a slate of candidates who have been nominated in a state for the position of presidential elector in association with a presidential slate;

(3) “Chief election official” shall mean the state official or body that is authorized to certify the total number of popular votes for each presidential slate;

(4) “Presidential elector” shall mean an elector for president and vice president of the United States;

(5) “Presidential elector certifying official” shall mean the state official or body that is authorized to certify the appointment of the state’s presidential electors;

(6) “Presidential slate” shall mean a slate of two (2) persons, the first of whom has been nominated as a candidate for president of the United States and the second of whom has been nominated as a candidate for vice president of the United States, or any legal successors to such persons, regardless of whether both names appear on the ballot presented to the voter in a particular state;

(7) “State” shall mean a state of the United States and the District of Columbia; and

(8) “Statewide popular election” shall mean a general election in which votes are cast for presidential slates by individual voters and counted on a statewide basis.

SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage.