Maine legislators on Monday killed a measure that would have awarded the state’s electoral college votes to the winner of the national popular vote.

A bill to enter Maine into the National Popular Vote interstate compact failed in a 68-79 vote on Monday in the state House. Twenty Democrats joined Republicans in voting down the measure.

ADVERTISEMENT

The bill had been introduced by state Senate President Troy Jackson (D), and it passed the upper chamber in May. It lost a test vote in the House last month, then won a vote last week before sputtering on Monday.

Maine is the second state to reject a national popular vote measure in recent weeks. Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak (D) vetoed a version of the bill that passed his Democratic-controlled legislature earlier this month.

Four states have joined the compact this year. Democratic governors in Oregon, Colorado, Delaware and New Mexico signed versions of the model bill.

They join 11 other states and the District of Columbia in the National Popular Vote interstate compact, which would award their electoral votes to the candidate who receives the highest popular vote total. The compact does not go into effect until their combined total adds up to 270 electoral votes or more. To date, those 15 states and D.C. account for 196 electoral votes.

Supporters of the proposal have struggled to make inroads in Republican states of late, though some legislators in states like Oklahoma, Michigan and Utah have introduced versions of their bill. Arizona’s Republican-controlled House passed a version of the compact this year, though that bill stalled in the state Senate.