Gov. Linda Lingle has vetoed a bill that would require Hawai'i's four electoral votes to be awarded to the presidential slate that receives the most popular votes across the country.

The purpose of Senate Bill 1956 was to join an "interstate compact" requiring member states to determine the winner of a presidential election by a popular vote. Hawai'i, like most other states, casts all its electoral votes to the winner of the popular vote in its respective jurisdiction.

Lingle, in rejecting the plan, said "given the potential under the interstate compact that Hawai'i's electoral votes would be awarded in a manner that may not reflect the will of the majority of the voters in Hawai'i, I believe that this bill is not in the best interest of the citizens of the state of Hawai'i."

The measure has been pushed by the groups Center for Voting and Democracy and National Popular Vote!

The concept of electing the president by national popular vote has become more actively debated since the 2000 presidential election, when George W. Bush was elected president despite having fewer popular votes nationwide than Al Gore.