By Brian Leubitz

Gov. Brown just signed AB 459, Jerry Hill’s bill to join the national popular vote compact:

Gov. Jerry Brown signed legislation this morning committing California to an interstate compact to award electoral votes to the presidential candidate who wins the most votes nationwide.

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For too long, presidential candidates have ignored California and our issues while pandering exclusively to the battleground states,” the bill’s author, Assemblyman Jerry Hill, D-San Mateo, said in a written statement. “A national popular vote will force candidates to actually campaign in California and talk about our issues.” (SacBee)

Basically, the Compact would become effective when enough votes in the electoral college are bound by the compact.  Before today’s signature, 8 states and DC signed up for 74 votes committed, California’s 55 gives a total of 129.  If the remaining 142 votes commit, we could be looking a vastly different political landscape.