Former Maine Gov. Paul LePage, a Republican, said that white people would be hurt if Maine joins other states in an effort to reduce the impact of the Electoral College.
“Actually what would happen if they do what they say they’re gonna do is white people will not have anything to say,” LePage said during an interview with WVOM radio Thursday. “It’s only going to be the minorities that would elect. It would be California, Texas, Florida.”
“All the small states like Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Wyoming, Montana, Rhode Island, you’ll never see a presidential candidate again. You’ll never see anybody at the national stage come to our state,” he said. “We’re gonna be forgotten people. It’s an insane, insane process.”
Maine’s state legislature has put forward a national popular vote bill that would allow Maine to team up with other states who want to cut out the Electoral College. The legislature’s Veterans and Legal Affairs Committee is slated to have a hearing on the bill on Friday.
The National Popular Vote Interstate Compact would designate the states’ electoral votes to the candidate who won the popular vote, but the coalition must accrue a total of 270 electoral votes to be valid.
So far, 12 states and the District of Columbia are part of the the agreement, totaling 181 electoral votes.
In the 2016 election, Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton won the popular vote but received only 232 electoral votes, losing to President Trump by 74 electoral votes. Former President George W. Bush also won the 2000 presidential election despite losing the popular vote.
