title:  If You’re Mad The Popular Vote Means Nothing, Here’s What You Can Do
text: Right now, it s looking increasingly like Hillary Clinton is going to win the popular vote, although we won t know for sure for weeks. And it wouldn t be the first time in recent history that the Democratic Party has lost the election while winning the popular vote, either. For many people, that s incredibly frustrating.Increasingly, people on both sides of the aisle have agreed that our presidential election process is shockingly undemocratic. After all, when it comes down to it, individual votes only count in swing states. If you re in Texas voting Democrat, or California voting Republican, that doesn t mean anything right now when it comes to presidential politics. A handful of swing states decide national elections, and when the math adds up right (or wrong, depending on how you look at it), it s possible for a candidate with popular support and the majority of ballots cast for them to still lose.Thanks to gerrymandering, the Democratic Party couldn t afford a close election, and this was too close.The good news is, there s something you can do!Eleven states have already signed on to the National Popular Vote bill, which is an interstate compact agreeing to cast the votes of those states (165 in all) to whoever wins the popular vote in the general election. If more states sign on, specifically 105 votes  worth, it s decided   the popular vote will determine who wins the general election.If you live in California, New York, New Jersey, Illinois, Maryland, Washington, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Vermont, Hawaii, or DC, your district is already on board with truly democratic elections. Although those states are mostly blue, not all of the legislative branches are, so there s hope!If you do not live in one of those states, you can pressure your state legislators to pass a bill joining the cause. You can find the progress made in your state already at this link, or find out more behind the movement in general here.Featured image by Alex Wong/Getty Images