AUGUSTA -- Supporters of a plan to switch to a national popular election of the president tried to convince a legislative panel this week that their idea will bring more candidates and campaign money to Maine.

Plus, they believe the change will modernize an outdated system put in place when many people -- including women and non-property owners -- were not allowed to vote.

Rep. John Martin, D-Eagle Lake, is sponsoring a bill that would require Maine to join an interstate compact to use the national popular vote system -- a modification of the Electoral College that is closer to the direct election of the president.

Martin said four times in American history -- 1824, 1876, 1888 and 2000 -- the man who became president did not get the most votes. "The time has come for the entire country to elect a president, not just 12 states," he said.

Martin and others argued that battleground states such as Ohio and Florida get outsized attention in presidential races, both in terms of advertising money and candidate visits. They believe a new system will make states such as Maine more relevant.

House Speaker Hannah Pingree, D-North Haven, Senate Majority Leader Phil Bartlett, D-Gorham, and House Whip Seth Berry, D-Bowdoinham, all offered testimony in support of the bill.

Martin's bill would have Maine join a compact with other states that would require all those states to award their electoral votes to the candidate who got the most votes nationwide, regardless of the vote in that particular state. The new system can go into effect only when enough states have joined to get to 270 electoral votes, the number needed to elect a president.

So far, only four states -- Hawaii, Maryland, Illinois and New Jersey -- have joined the compact.

Rep. Joe Wagner, D-Lyman, submitted testimony in opposition to the bill. Wagner said he could not attend in person, but sent along a written statement raising several questions.

"I believe the better approach is encouraging other states to adopt the method we here in Maine and folks in Nebraska have employed: base the distribution of electoral votes on both the statewide and congressional district popular vote results," he wrote.

Rep. Herb Adams, D-Portland, said he plans to provide the Legislature's Legal and Veterans Affairs Committee with information about his opposition to the bill when they meet again to discuss the measure.

Adams said he's no defender of the Electoral College, but that the compact could give a minority of states power to choose the president, rather than all 50 states. And it could mean Maine would award its Electoral College votes to the national popular vote winner, not the person most Maine people supported.

"The person for whom Maine would be forced to cast its electoral votes wouldn't necessarily be the person who won in Maine," he said.

Adams said the best way to change the system is to amend the Constitution, not create a hybrid.

The League of Women Voters of Maine did not take a position on the bill, saying they are studying the issue.

Ann Luther, co-president of the group, offered position papers from the group's national affiliate for and against the compact. While the group would like to see an alternative to the Electoral College, it is concerned that the compact might not be the best solution.

"Passage of the National Popular Vote Compact will result in the emphasis of presidential campaigns shifting from the battleground states to areas of large concentrations of population," the group wrote.

Berry, of Bowdoinham, said throughout history, states have taken steps to improve democracy long before they were embraced at the national level. He said individual states were the first places to allow women and non-property owners to vote and they began the movement for the direct election of U.S. senators.

While it may take a while for enough states to vote to change the current system, he said the federal government may be compelled to act once the new system is approve in several states.

"It doesn't seem logical that we allow a handful of states to determine the outcome of presidential elections," he said.

Susan Cover -- 620-7015

scover@centralmaine.com