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Posted: Friday, May 2nd, 2008 5:12 AM HST

Hawaii joins drive for presidential popular vote

By Associated Press

HONOLULU (AP) _ Hawaii is the fourth state to enact a plan to elect the president of the United States by popular vote. Majority Democrats overrode Republican Governor Lingle's veto of the plan. It attempts to nullify the Electoral College system by awarding each state's electoral votes to the winner of the nationwide popular vote. It would only kick in if states representing a majority of the nation's 538 electoral votes pass laws to make the same change. Opponents of the plan say it would hurt small states like Hawaii because their small populations would get overridden by majorities in larger states. Hawaii joins Illinois, Maryland and New Jersey as states that have enacted the popular vote plan. (Copyright 2008 Associated Press. All rights reserved)