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Using shady tactics usually reserved for Congress, Minnesota legislators passed an omnibus bill late last week that included the National Popular Vote interstate compact (NPV). Progressive hardliners were forced to use the omnibus because NPV would have failed in a clean vote.

Many state constitutions prohibit bundling different issues and spending items into a single bill. The tactic allows legislative leaders to combine unpopular measures with popular ones, making it difficult for legislators to vote against it. This is what happened with NPV.

NPV was originally introduced in Minnesota in ordinary, stand-alone bills in the House and Senate. When it became clear that some Democrats (technically DFLers) were likely to vote with Republicans against the scheme, NPV’s hardline Progressive backers placed it in various omnibus bills. Ultimately, HF 1830 passed and was signed by Governor Walz.

The bill is 296 pages long. The NPV compact is buried at page 213. This is after provisions allocating money to the state parking fund, adjusting appointments to the Mississippi River Parkway Commission, and creating and funding a new “Council on LGBTQIA2S+ Minnesotans.”

No wonder they had to hide NPV. The voice of Minnesota voters could all but disappear in an NPV election. Here is how the entire state of Minnesota compares with a list of the nation’s ten largest metropolitan areas (as defined by the Census Bureau).

There are nearly 43 million people in just the three largest metropolitan areas. That is more than seven times the population of the entire state of Minnesota.

The NPV compact is also rife with legal and practical flaws. At best these could prevent it from every working at all. At worse, they would lead to a constitutional crisis worse than anything in recent memory.