AUGUSTA, MAINE - On May 20, the Maine House of Representatives voted 76–71 to withdraw the state from the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact (NPVIC), reversing course just over a year after Maine became the 17th jurisdiction to join the agreement.

Three House Democrats, Rep. James F. Dill (D-Old Town), Rep. Tavis Rock Hasenfus (D-Readfield), and Karen L. Montell (D-Gardiner) joined House Republicans in favor of advancing the legislation. 

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The bill reached the House floor after two Democratic senators, Craig Hickman (D-Kennebec) and Jill Dusen (D-Cumberland), joined Republicans in casting a key committee vote on April 28 to exit the compact.

Senator Hickman moved to table the bill on May 21 after it passed the House.

The NPVIC is a multi-state agreement to award a participating state’s Electoral College votes to the presidential candidate who wins the national popular votes. In other words, voters in participating states do not necessarily have the final say in how their electors vote.

The compact only takes effect when enough states join to total 270 electoral votes — the number needed to elect a president. As of June 2025, 17 states and Washington, D.C. have joined, representing a total of 209 electoral votes. It needs 61 more to take effect.

Maine joined the compact in April 2024 when Governor Janet Mills allowed LD 1578 to become law without her signature. The bill advanced to her desk after a single House vote tipped the scale in favor of the Democrats.

In a statement, Mills acknowledged valid arguments for and against the NPVIC and encouraged continued national dialogue.

“Recognizing that there is merit to both sides of the argument, and recognizing that this measure has been the subject of public discussion several times before in Maine, I would like this important nationwide debate to continue,” she wrote.

Her statement also made it clear that she leans more toward support for the NPVIC, asserting that it "would provide that each vote carries equal weight, whether the voter is a rural, urban or suburban resident, and thus create greater equity among voters."

Supporters of the NPVIC further argue that it would give voters in reliably Republican or Democratic states the same influence as those in the seven battleground states. 

Critics argue that the compact would override local preferences and reduce the influence of small states like Maine, especially since Maine is 1 of only 2 states (along with Nebraska) that split their electoral votes by congressional district.

All other states use a winner-takes-all system. It doesn't matter how much of the vote a candidate gets. It doesn't even have to be a majority. As long as they get the most votes, they win all of the state's electors.

Maine adopted a district-by-district model known today as the Congressional District Method in 1972. Each congressional district awards 1 electoral vote and 2 electoral votes go to the winner of the statewide popular vote.

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In 2024, Kamala Harris won the popular vote in Maine's First Congressional District and the overall statewide vote, so she was awarded 3 of Maine’s 4 electors. However, since Trump won the state's Second District, he was awarded 1 elector.

The House vote to exit the NPVIC was led by Rep. Barbara Bagshaw (R-Windham). She noted that Maine was the first state to adopt the congressional method, which she says "reflects our political diversity and values every voice, whether rural or urban.”

She further asserts that “by joining the National Popular Vote Compact, we have undermined that.”

Trump won the Electoral College but not the popular vote in 2016. However, he secured both in 2024, by a margin of more than 2 million votes. According to The Washington Post, that shift sparked renewed interest in the compact among some Republicans nationally. 

Patrick Rosenstiel, senior consultant for the NPVIC, said the project is "going to be the most important political reform of my lifetime when it happens," and said it is "just a matter of time.” However, Maine could signal an even rockier path to 270 electoral votes.

If the NPVIC exit is approved by the Maine Senate and signed into law — or allowed to take effect without a signature — Maine would become the first state to officially exit the NPVIC after joining it.