Bill
HB 2257
HB 2257 enacts the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact, directing Kansas to award its electoral votes to the national popular-vote winner once a majority of states join.
Status (as provided)
- Title: Enacting the interstate compact on the agreement among the states to elect the president by national popular vote.
- Introduced: January 30, 2025 (document shows introduction by Rep. Ballard / filed 2/4/2025 in some records)
- Referred to: Committee on Elections
- Fiscal note dated: March 3, 2025 (Kansas Division of the Budget)
Note about source materials: the supplied packet includes text and procedural entries from multiple jurisdictions. This summary focuses on the version and fiscal analysis that enact the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact (NPVIC) and the Kansas fiscal note describing its anticipated impact.
Purpose and intent
- HB 2257 would enact the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact (NPVIC) for the state. The compact directs a member state to appoint its presidential electors consistent with the national popular vote — i.e., to award its electoral votes to the presidential slate that wins the largest nationwide popular-vote total once the compact is in effect among states representing a majority of electoral votes.
Key provisions
- Membership: Any U.S. state and the District of Columbia may join by enacting the agreement.
- Statewide popular election: Each member state conducts a statewide popular election for president and vice president.
- Determining the national popular vote winner:
- The chief election official in each member state compiles vote totals from all states where votes were cast and calculates a “national popular vote total” for each presidential slate.
- The slate with the largest national popular vote total is designated the “national popular vote winner.”
- Each member state's presidential-elector certifying official then certifies the appointment of the elector slate nominated in that state associated with the national popular vote winner.
- Administrative rules:
- Member states must communicate final vote counts to other member states in a timely manner (final determination no later than the federal deadline for a state's vote totals to be conclusive for Congress).
- The chief election official must publicly release vote counts as they are determined.
- Tie procedure: If there is a tie for national popular vote winner, the state certifies the slate that received the most votes within that state.
- If the number of electors nominated for the designated national winner differs from the state's electoral vote count, the national winner’s presidential candidate may nominate electors to fill the state's slots; the state certifying official will certify them.
- Effective date and withdrawal:
- The compact takes effect only when enacted in substantially the same form by states cumulatively holding a majority (270) of electoral votes and those enactments have taken effect.
- A state may withdraw, but a withdrawal within six months before the end of a presidential term does not become effective until the next term’s officers are qualified.
- The agreement terminates if the Electoral College is abolished.
- Severability: If any provision is held invalid, remaining provisions continue.
Changes to state law
- The bill would amend Kansas election statutes to require the state’s electors to vote for president and vice president “in accordance with section 1” (the compact) and to nominate electors in accordance with the compact’s rules.
Who is affected
- State election officials (Secretary of State, chief election officials), county election administrators, political parties (elector slates), presidential candidates, and voters — because the way the state’s electoral votes are allocated could change if the compact becomes effective nationally.
- Counties may incur election administration costs (see fiscal note).
Fiscal impact (from Kansas Division of the Budget, March 3, 2025)
- Secretary of State: No new funding requested — office indicates it would use existing resources to update public materials about the election process.
- Counties: Kansas Association of Counties reports the compact could have fiscal effects at the county level if a national popular-vote system leads to more recounts or legal challenges; no precise estimate provided.
- The fiscal note states any fiscal effect is not reflected in the FY 2026 Governor’s Budget Report.
Effective/timing mechanics
- The compact is not self-activating for a single state; it becomes operative only when states holding a majority of electoral votes have enacted it in substantially the same form and those enactments take effect.
- Withdrawal restrictions (six-month rule) are designed to reduce last-minute changes in presidential election years.
Practical implications
- If the compact becomes effective, Kansas would allocate its electors based on the national popular-vote winner rather than the statewide winner in Kansas alone.
- The compact could shift campaign incentives, potentially changing where presidential campaigns focus resources; it may also alter recount and litigation dynamics because national totals would matter.
Recommendation
- Because the package included materials from multiple jurisdictions, verify the bill’s current procedural status and final text with the Kansas Legislature’s official website or the Secretary of State’s office for the authoritative record.
Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.
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