§ 12-402 — Adoption and text of compact

* § 12-402. Adoption and text of compact. The agreement among the\nstates to elect the president by national popular vote is adopted and\nenacted into law as follows:\n ARTICLE I\n Membership. Any state of the United States and the District of\nColumbia may become a member of this agreement by enacting this\nagreement.\n ARTICLE II\n Right of the people in member states to vote for president and vice\npresident. Each member state shall conduct a statewide popular election\nfor president and vice president of the United States.\n ARTICLE III\n Manner of appointing presidential electors in member states. 1. Prior\nto the time set by law for the meeting and voting by the presidential\nelectors, the chief election official of each member state shall\ndetermine the number of votes for each presidential slate in each state\nof the United States and in the District of Columbia in which votes have\nbeen cast in a statewide popular election and shall add such votes\ntogether to produce a "national popular vote total" for each\npresidential slate.\n 2. The chief election official of each member state shall designate\nthe presidential slate with the largest national popular vote total as\nthe "national popular vote winner".\n 3. The presidential elector certifying official of each member state\nshall certify the appointment in that official's own state of the\nelector slate nominated in that state in association with the national\npopular vote winner.\n 4. At least six days before the day fixed by law for the meeting and\nvoting by the presidential electors, each member state shall make a\nfinal determination of the number of popular votes cast in the state for\neach presidential slate and shall communicate an official statement of\nsuch determination within twenty-four hours to the chief election\nofficial of each other member state.\n 5. The chief election official of each member state shall treat as\nconclusive an official statement containing the number of popular votes\nin a state for each presidential slate made by the day established by\nfederal law for making a state's final determination conclusive as to\nthe counting of electoral votes by congress.\n 6. In event of a tie for the national popular vote winner, the\npresidential elector certifying official of each member state shall\ncertify the appointment of the elector slate nominated in association\nwith the presidential slate receiving the largest number of popular\nvotes within that official's own state.\n 7. If, for any reason, the number of presidential electors nominated\nin a member state in association with the national popular vote winner\nis less than or greater than that state's number of electoral votes, the\npresidential candidate on the presidential slate that has been\ndesignated as the national popular vote winner shall have the power to\nnominate the presidential electors for that state and that state's\npresidential elector certifying official shall certify the appointment\nof such nominees.\n 8. The chief election official of each member state shall immediately\nrelease to the public all vote counts or statements of votes as they are\ndetermined or obtained.\n 9. This article shall govern the appointment of presidential electors\nin each member state in any year in which this agreement is, on July\ntwentieth, in effect in states cumulatively possessing a majority of the\nelectoral votes.\n ARTICLE IV\n Other provisions. This agreement shall take effect when states\ncumulatively possessing a majority of the electoral votes have enacted\nthis agreement in substantially the same form and the enactments by such\nstates have taken effect in each state. Any member state may withdraw\nfrom this agreement, except that a withdrawal occurring six months or\nless before the end of a president's term shall not become effective\nuntil a president or vice president shall have been qualified to serve\nthe next term. The chief executive of each member state shall promptly\nnotify the chief executive of all other states of when this agreement\nhas been enacted and has taken effect in that official's state, when the\nstate has withdrawn from this agreement, and when this agreement takes\neffect generally.\n This agreement shall terminate if the electoral college is abolished.\n If any provision of this agreement is held invalid, the remaining\nprovisions shall not be affected.\n ARTICLE V\n Definitions. For purposes of this agreement:\n 1. "Chief executive" shall mean the governor of a state of the United\nStates or the mayor of the District of Columbia.\n 2. "Elector slate" shall mean a slate of candidates who have been\nnominated in a state for the position of presidential elector in\nassociation with a presidential slate.\n 3. "Chief election official" shall mean the state official or body\nthat is authorized to certify the total number of popular votes for each\npresidential slate.\n 4. "Presidential elector" shall mean an elector for president and vice\npresident of the United States.\n 5. "Presidential elector certifying official" shall mean the state\nofficial or body that is authorized to certify the appointment of the\nstate's presidential electors.\n 6. "Presidential slate" shall mean a slate of two persons, the first\nof whom has been nominated as a candidate for president of the United\nStates and the second of whom has been nominated as a candidate for vice\npresident of the United States, or any legal successors to such persons,\nregardless of whether both names appear on the ballot presented to the\nvoter in a particular state.\n 7. "State" shall mean a state of the United States and the District of\nColumbia.\n 8. "Statewide popular election" shall mean a general election in which\nvotes are cast for presidential slates by individual voters and counted\non a statewide basis.\n * NB Effective upon notification by the commissioner of the state\nboard of elections upon the occurence of the adoption of the agreement\namong the states to elect the president by national popular vote by two\nor more states.\n