Massachusetts is a state where politics closely watched and fiercely played. That's one reason it's so unfortunate that, when it comes to presidential campaigns, Bay State voters are mostly stuck on the sidelines.

Because of the Electoral College, Massachusetts is a spectator state, along with several dozen others. It's considered safely "blue," which means the national Republicans write us off and the national Democrats take us for granted. The candidates will come here to raise money, but neither will spend any energy trying to change voters' minds. Political activists in Massachusetts spend the weeks before a presidential election knocking on doors in New Hampshire or calling voters in midwestern swing states. No need to talk politics with your neighbor; his vote doesn't count any more than yours does.

There is a solution to a distorted election system that results in most of the country being ignored while candidates shower their attention on a dozen or so "battleground" states. If enough states would agree to order their electors to cast votes for the winner of the national popular vote, rather than the top vote-getter in their state, every vote would count equally. Republicans in Massachusetts or Democrats in Texas would still feel their votes were helping their candidates, no matter how outnumbered they were in their home states.

That's the premise behind the National Popular Vote initiative. It is an interstate compact, already enacted in five states, which would become binding as soon as enough states sign on to guarantee 270 or more electors to the candidate who earns the highest popular vote.

The point of the NPV is not to change the outcome of any election. With a handful of exceptions, the winner of the popular vote has also tallied the most electoral votes. The Electoral College is the appendix on the body politic: It serves no real purpose, and it only gets noticed if something goes wrong. The NPV solves the problem by extending to the presidency a principle that works in every other election from class president to U.S. senator: the candidate with the most votes wins.

Two years ago, the Massachusetts House approved the NPV, but it died before the Senate could complete final action. The House is set to try again, with debate scheduled for today. This time, Massachusetts should join other states in making every vote count.