Listen: Will Minnesota join push toward a national popular vote?

December 7, 2020 at 3:12PM
Al Lindell, head election judge, handed an "I voted" sticker to a voter from behind a plexiglass barrier as voters gathered for the election Tuesday at the Vasa Town Hall in Welch, Minn.
Al Lindell, head election judge, handed an "I voted" sticker to a voter from behind a plexiglass barrier as voters gathered for the election Tuesday at the Vasa Town Hall in Welch, Minn. (Star Tribune/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

Coming off the 2020 presidential election, the conversation around the Electoral College continues to heat up. Fifteen states have joined the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact, but Minnesota isn't one of them.

The current system, created by the framers of the U.S. constitution, grants each state a number of presidential electors, based on population and congressional representation, to decide the election each four years. But under the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact, participating states would agree to award all their electoral votes to whichever presidential candidate wins a majority nationwide.

Host Eric Roper talks to reporter Torey van Oot about the the Popular Vote Compact, and why Minnesota hasn't joined it. Read Torey's original story here.

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about the writers

about the writers

Torey Van Oot

Politics and Government

Torey Van Oot reports on Minnesota politics and government for the Star Tribune.

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Eric Roper

Curious Minnesota Editor

Eric Roper oversees Curious Minnesota, the Minnesota Star Tribune's community reporting project fueled by great reader questions. He also hosts the Curious Minnesota podcast.

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