Color me suspicious. The elections in 2000 and 2016 were won by Republicans via the EC vote, and this change is being pushed by Democrats. Would the Democrats be pushing the NPV, or even just be in favor of it, if it was the Democrats who won in 2000 and 2016 via the EC? I'm guessing the answer is no, which makes me think the purpose of it has less to do with any principal of election fairness and more about wanting "my side to win". Its like the Democrats lost twice at the game of chess, and instead of improving their strategy for future games, they want to change the rules of chess instead.
To a certain extent, I agree. That the national Democratic Party itself has a strategic interest in changing the system at present is transparently true, given the customary flip-flopping that has always happened around this issue, and the fact that they currently represent the majority of American voters (not American ciztizens, an honor neither party has ever come close to). The national Democratic Party is a godforasken cabal of liars, criminals, and hucksters, just like the Republican Party. This has been true for as long as either Party has existed, as they were always, essentially, fine tuned tools of a small kleptocratic overclass to maintain control over legislation and diminish the small but ever-present threat of minority concerns somehow reaching the floor of the Legislature for a vote. Which is why so many of our more ideologically driven founding politicians opposed the formation of political parties to begin with.
But the American public is not "the Democrats". Nor are we "the Republicans". Most of us are undeclared with regard to Party affiliation, and purposefully so. We the poeple have always desired the vote, and we have been steadily dismantling system after system designed to
deny it to us ever since this country was founded. Which is why we even
know what the popular vote in the last few elections even was - Americans, not "the Republican Party" or "the Democratic Party" have over time demonstrated a keen desire to somehow reach a situation of one person, one vote. That's why both parties now - voluntarily - poll their voters via the dog and pony show of a primary race before announcing their official candidates for the presidency. It's why many offices have become elected positions that used to be appointments. It's why women, servicemen overseas, former felons, African-Americans, and Native Americans are now "allowed" to vote in national elections. Those things weren't given to us for free, we had to fight long and hard to attain them, and both through and often outside the auspices of both national parties. And we're still fighting. The Electoral College is one the last of the many decrepit institutions that needs to fall before true electoral parity can be reached, and if you think the American public loves this institution too much to give it up, then I
dare you to put it to a vote. Because most Americans are unhappy with the present system, and painting it as a purely partisan issue is not accurate.