Alternative Voting Interstate Compact

Alternative Voting Interstate Compact

 

Summary:

  • All states which adopt alternative voting methods for federal elections would be encouraged to sign on to the Alternative Voting Methods Interstate Compact regardless of their National Popular Vote Interstate Compact (NPVIC) status. 
  • This compact would go into effect immediately, allowing national election results to publish vote totals consistently and accurately, including votes from states using alternative voting methods.
  • This compact does not change the way state electors to the electoral college are allocated, but does specify how alternative votes should be summed for states which may choose to assign their electoral votes to the winner of the national popular vote.

 

Vote Calculation Process:

  1. Convert all ballots from each state to universal ballots using the "Universal Ballot Conversion."
    2. Sum the universal ballots from all states to find the top two popular vote getters nationally, described here as Candidates A and B. (This includes ballots from every state and every method.)
  2. Each state in the Alternative Voting Methods Compact would then determine the number of voters who had a preference for candidate A over B or vice versa as well as the number of voters who had no preference for either. 
  3. Assign votes from each state in the Alternative Voting Methods Compact to candidates A or B. These vote totals will be considered the popular vote totals for each state for the purposes of the NPVIC. 

Example: If a state had 100,000 voters, and if 60,000 of voters in the Alternative Vote Compact member states preferred candidate A, 39,000 preferred candidate B, and 1,000 had no preference between them or preferred neither, then the popular vote for that state would be reported as 60,000 votes for A and 39,000 votes for B. 

 

Why Count Votes As Proposed:

  • Ensures One Person, One Vote. Every voter in every state, regardless of voting method, has an equally weighted vote. Every vote’s power is worth one vote.
  • Ensures that voters in states which use alternative voting methods can safely vote for the candidates of their choice, regardless of those candidates national viability, without fear of wasting votes or an incentive to vote “lesser-evil.”
  • Ensures that states which adopt a voting method which eliminates vote-splitting and spoilers do not have their presidential votes split or spoiled in the process of compiling their votes with Plurality votes.
  • Would allow 3rd party or independent candidates to run and win (assuming they had the support needed,) without fear of being scapegoated as spoilers.
  • Prevents states in the Alternative Voting Methods Compact from collectively acting as a spoiler, throwing the election to a less preferred candidate or candidate who didn't win the popular vote.
  • Ensures that states in the Alternative Voting Methods Compact are never responsible for preventing any candidate from receiving 270 electoral college votes, which would result in Congress determining the winner of the Presidential Election instead of having the election decided by the voters. 

 

National Popular Vote Alternative Voting Methods Compact Universal Vote Conversion:

The Universal Ballot Conversion is used to convert all ballots from all voting methods into one standardized total which can be summed to find a universal ballot count total across states or jurisdictions using different voting methods. After conversion, regardless of the voting method used, a designation of the best possible ranking or rating shall always be worth 1 point and a designation of the worst possible rating or ranking shall always be worth 0 points. 



Alternative Voting Methods Interstate Compact:

 

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. Member states or jurisdictions within member states may adopt alternative voting methods including, but not limited to, STAR Voting, Approval Voting, Instant Runoff Voting, Condorcet Voting, Score Voting, or other voting methods which use a ranked, scored, binary yes/no, approval, rated, or graded ballot design.

 

Article III—Manner of Determining the Popular Vote for President and Vice President in Member States

The chief election official of each member state shall immediately release to the public all original ballot counts or statements of ballots as they are determined or obtained, including additional ballot data such as total scores for each slate for voting methods which use a scored ballot, number of ballots with each unique ballot ranking for voting methods which use a ranked ballot, or other ballot information as is appropriate for full vote count reporting for the voting method in use. 

The chief election official of each member state shall then use the "Universal Ballot Conversion" method to determine the “universal ballot count” for each presidential slate in their State. The universal ballot count shall be used for the preliminary reporting of national election results for the purposes of summing ballots across states or jurisdictions which use different voting methods. 

At the time of, or within the 24 hours following the certification of the presidential election results in each member state, and no later than seven days prior to the day fixed by law for the meeting and voting by the presidential electors, each member state shall communicate an official statement to the chief election officials of each other member state, and to the press, with their universal ballot count totals. 

 

Article IV—Manner of Determining the National Popular Vote for President and Vice President

No later than six days prior to the day fixed by law for the meeting and voting by the presidential electors, the chief election official of each member state shall then determine the two presidential slates with the largest universal ballot count, referred to as slates A and B for the purposes of this compact.

The chief election official of each member state, by referring back to the preferences expressed on the original ballots cast, shall determine the number of voters who had a preference for slate A over B, or vice versa, as well as the number of voters who had no preference for either. A preference for slate A shall be counted as one vote for Slate A and a preference for slate B shall be counted as one vote for Slate B. These numbers shall be considered the "Final National Popular Vote Totals" for each member state.

Each member state shall then communicate a second official statement to the chief election officials of all other states containing their "Final National Popular Vote Totals" or "Popular Votes" no later than 24 hours after the determination has been made, and no later than five days prior to the day fixed by law for the meeting and voting by the presidential electors.

This article shall govern the determination of the state's Popular Vote for the purposes of the appointment of presidential electors in each member state in accordance with state law.

In the event that the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact (NPVIC) has gone into effect, for states which have signed onto the NPVIC, this article would govern the determination of the National Popular Vote for the purposes of the appointment of presidential electors to the winner of the National Popular Vote. 

 

Article V—Other Provisions

Any member state may withdraw from this agreement, except that a withdrawal occurring six 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.

The chief election official in each member-state shall appoint one representative to an Alternative Voting Methods Interstate Committee which may be convened to resolve any unexpected developments or to establish additional protocols as needed. Any and all decisions regarding a state's voting method or popular vote counting method must be formalized and publicly declared by July 20th in any year in which a presidential election will be held in order for the changes made to go into effect for that presidential election.

If any provision of this agreement is held invalid, the remaining provisions shall not be affected.

 

Article VI- Universal Ballot Conversion

The Universal Ballot Conversion is used to convert all ballots from all voting methods into one standardized total which can be summed to find a universal ballot count total across states or jurisdictions using different voting methods. After conversion, regardless of the voting method used, a designation of the best possible ranking or rating shall always be worth 1 point and a designation of the worst possible rating or ranking shall always be worth 0 points.

STAR Voting and 0-5 Score Voting ballot conversion:

  • 5 stars = 1 point
  • 4 stars = .8 points
  • 3 stars = .6 points
  • 2 stars = .4 points
  • 1 star = .2 points
  • 0 stars = 0 points


Approval Voting ballot conversion:

  • Approvals = 1 points
  • Non-Approvals = 0 points


Ranked ballot conversion option 1, (recommended):

(Equal and skipped rankings allowed and recommended.)

  • 1st choice = 1 point
  • 2nd choice = .8 points
  • 3rd choice = .6 points
  • 4th choice = .4 points
  • 5th choice = .2 points
  • 6th choice or lower = 0 points


Ranked ballot conversion option 2 (IRV method):

  • Run state-defined Instant Runoff Voting method to find two finalists, A and B. 
  • A preference for A over B is counted as 1 point for A. A preference for B over A is counted as 1 point for B.

    Example: If a state had 100,000 voters and the final runoff was 60,000 votes for candidate A, 39,000 votes for candidate B, and 1,000 ballots exhausted, then the universal ballot count would be reported as 60,000 points for A, 39,000 points for B, and 1,000 exhausted ballots. 


Plurality Voting ballot conversion:

  • Vote = 1 point


Conversions for Scored, Rated, Graded or ballot formats not listed above: 

  • 1 point shall be received by all candidates with the highest possible rating on each ballot. 
  • 0 points shall be received by all candidates with the lowest possible rating on each ballot. 
  • The decimal points received by all candidates who were given an intermediary rating shall be proportional to the number of grades in the scale used and shall increase regularly at consistent intervals.
    Example: a grading scale of Good, Okay, Bad, would be converted to 1, .5, and 0 points.
  • Formula: Each score in the range N to X counts (S-N)/(X-N) points toward the scored candidate’s point total where S is the score given by the voter, N is the worst possible rating, and X is the best possible rating. For example, on a score ballot with a range of -2 to 2, a score of 1 would count (1-(-2))/(2-(-2))=0.75 points toward the scored candidate’s point total.

 

Article VII—Definitions

For purposes of this agreement,

"candidates A and B" shall mean the two candidates which received the highest or second highest universal ballot count total.

“chief executive” shall mean the Governor of a State of the United States or the Mayor of the District of Columbia;

“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;

"final national popular vote totals” shall mean the total number of ballots which designated a preference for each of the presidential slates which received the highest or second highest national universal ballot count total. 

"original ballots cast" shall mean the preferences, scores, approvals, or designations made by voters on their original ballots, not a universal ballot count following conversion using the Universal Ballot Conversion method.

“presidential elector” shall mean an elector for President and Vice President of the United States. In the event that the electoral college is abolished, "presidential elector" will refer to the individuals empowered by each state to officially certify the national election results for the President and Vice President of the United States of America"

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

“presidential slate” shall mean a slate of two 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;

“score”, “rating”, and “grading” are interchangeable terms in reference to the markings a voter may make on their Scored, Rated, or Graded ballot.

"Slates A and B" shall mean the two presidential slates which received the highest or second highest universal ballot count total.

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

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

"universal ballot conversion" shall mean the system of converting ballots from any number of voting methods into a universal ballot count in Article VII of this agreement.

"universal ballot count” shall mean the point totals for each presidential slate following conversion using the universal ballot conversion method. 

"voter" shall mean a registered voter who is authorized to cast a ballot in a given state.