National Popular Vote bill introduced in PA House
Bill would move PA to join 17 other states in ensuring that every vote counts
Rep. Christopher M. Rabb April 9, 2025 | 12:34 PM
HARRISBURG, April 9 – Five times in U.S. history, and twice in recent presidential elections, the winner of the electoral college received fewer total votes than their opponent, highlighting a fundamental contradiction to the “one-person, one-vote” principal in American democracy.
Today, Rep. Chris Rabb was joined by Rep. Heather Boyd to reintroduce a bill that would move Pennsylvania to a popular vote system, joining 17 other states and the District of Columbia in the National Popular Vote movement. The bill would include Pennsylvania in the growing number of states that want to guarantee the presidency to the candidate who wins the most popular votes in all 50 states and the District of Columbia.
“Every voter, of every party should have an equal voice in presidential elections,” said Rabb, D-Phila. and the bill’s author. “This is the fundamental principle that our democracy builds on – that every vote counts equally. Not that some votes count more than others. It is time for PA to join other states in ensuring that every vote counts equally.”
In 2024, Pennsylvania was one of the seven battleground states. However, in 2012, the presidential campaigns largely ignored the commonwealth. The only way to ensure voters in Pennsylvania play a meaningful role every four years is by electing the president by National Popular Vote.
If enacted, H.B. 270 would guarantee the presidency to the candidate who wins the most popular votes in all 50 states and the District of Columbia and would take effect when states with 270 electoral votes have passed the bill. The National Popular Vote bill is already in place in 17 states and the District of Columbia, totaling 209 electoral votes. Pennsylvania has 19 electoral votes.