The National Popular Vote Interstate Compact has passed in the New Mexico House and will soon be taken up by the state’s Senate. In an article in the Public News Service, Barry Fadem of National Popular Vote explains:

“Under the current system, New Mexico has no influence, does not play any role in the presidential election and is totally ignored. … Under National Popular Vote, we believe it will be a 50 state campaign, and every vote in every state will count.”

The article goes on to discuss additional benefits of adopting the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact. University of Colorado Political Science Professor Ken Bickers explains a sometimes overlooked upside of a nationwide election: higher voter turnout. A system in which the winner of the national popular vote would become the president “would probably lead to greater voter turnout in states that are currently ignored, because there would be an effort by both parties to get people out to vote, because it would no longer be 51 contests.”