Virginia joins national popular vote compact under Dem Gov. Spanberger

One of the Democratic Party’s rising stars, Virginia Governor Abigail Spanberger, is under fire for signing a bill granting the state’s presidential electoral votes to the winner of the national popular vote.

The bill signed by Spanberger adds Virginia to the National Popular Vote Compact, an interstate agreement among states to award their entire electoral votes to the winner of the national popular vote. Virginia Republicans spoke out against the bill, arguing that it made the state’s votes “VOID.”

This comes as Spanberger, who was recently tapped to deliver Democrats’ response to President Donald Trump’s State of the Union, has seen her approval rating plummet. Critics accused her of abandoning her centrist campaign message to promote far-left politics.

Criticism of Spanberger erupted again after news of Spanberger’s approval of the bill. The Virginia Republican Party posted on »

SOROS-SUPPORTED GROUP AMONG LIBERAL ORGANIZATIONS PUTTING EXHAUSTING MONEY INTO VIRGINIA GERRYMANDERING EFFORT

A 4th grade student works on an election-themed art project at Heather Hills Elementary School in Bowie, Maryland, October 22, 2024. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc. via Getty Images)

The GOP said that under the bill, “all of Virginia’s Electoral College votes will go to the winner of the national popular vote — no matter who wins the popular vote in our Commonwealth.”

The party called the move “an unconstitutional attack on our democracy.”

However, Spanberger received praise from groups opposed to the Electoral College. Stand Up America, a progressive voting rights organization, welcomed the move, with executive director Christina Harvey calling it “an important step forward for representative democracy.”

“Virginia has set another powerful example to other states of how to defend representative democracy, even as they face increasing pressure from the Trump administration,” Harvey said, adding, “The presidency should be won by the candidate who gets the most votes nationally, not just the right combination of battleground states.” »

“This brings us closer to a system in which Americans’ votes for president and vice president count equally, regardless of where they live,” she said.

The National Popular Vote Interstate Compact operates on a conditional trigger that keeps the law dormant until it can guarantee a victory for the winner of the national popular vote. Even if member states adopt legislation individually, the pact only comes into force when the total electoral weight of all participating states reaches a majority of the electoral college, or at least 270 electoral votes.

With Virginia officially joining, the compact currently has 222 electoral votes, meaning it remains 48 votes short of the threshold.

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Jan. 17 at the Virginia State Capitol during Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger’s inauguration ceremony in Richmond. Democratic state lawmakers have introduced more than 50 new taxes or tax increases in the Legislature for things like dog walking, deliveries and dry cleaning. (Kendall Warner/The Virginian Pilot)

Until the 270 vote mark is reached, the law has no effect and member states continue to reward their voters based on their own internal results.

National Popular Vote, the organization advancing the compact, also celebrated the addition of Virginia, saying in a statement that the compact “will guarantee the presidency to the candidate who receives the most popular votes in all 50 states and the District of Columbia.”

Patrick Rosenstiel, a spokesperson for the National Popular Vote, told Fox News Digital he was “grateful” to Spanberger and the Virginia Legislature, saying “their support builds critical momentum for our movement to give 63 percent of American voters what they want, a national popular vote for president.”

“With Virginia’s 13 electoral votes, the National Popular Vote Compact is 48 votes short of reaching the 270 required to activate it,” Rosenstiel noted, adding, “We will continue our work state by state until the candidate who wins the greatest number of votes is elected president and every voter is treated equally in every presidential election.”

The group noted that similar bills have been introduced in Wisconsin, Arizona, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Nevada.

Under the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact, no voter will have their vote canceled at the state level because their choice differed from the plurality sentiment in their state. Instead, each voter’s vote will be added directly – without distortion – to the national tally for the candidate of their choice. This will ensure that every Virginia voter is relevant in the upcoming presidential elections.

Spanberger was also recently accused by former Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin of “illegal and unconstitutional” gerrymandering in her effort to redraw Virginia’s congressional maps.

Virginians will vote April 21 in Spanberger’s redistricting referendum, a move that Youngkin said would give Democrats 10 of the state’s 11 congressional seats.

Spanberger on Monday signed hundreds of bills passed by the majority-Democratic Legislature. She also vetoed a few bills relating to unregulated skill gaming machines and a proposed Fairfax County casino and returned dozens with proposed amendments.

VIRGINIA DEM ADMITS REDISTRIBUTION GOALS TO ‘STOP TRUMP,’ NOT ON ‘EQUITY’

Virginia Governor Abigail Spanberger responds to President Donald Trump’s Invisible State of the Union. (Steve Helber/Reuters)

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Among the bills that Spanberger signaled support for with proposed amendments were a series of new restrictions on gun ownership, including a ban on “assault weapons,” as well as a ban on law enforcement helping to enforce immigration laws.

Fox News Digital has reached out to Spanberger’s office for comment.