National Popular Vote Bill Clears Key Colorado House Committee

This content was originally published by the Longmont Observer and is licensed under a Creative Commons license.

The National Popular Vote bill, which would guarantee the presidency to the candidate who receives the most popular votes across all 50 states and the District of Columbia, cleared the Colorado House, State, Veterans, & Military Affairs Committee on Tuesday.

The measure, which passed the Colorado Senate in January, now moves to the full Colorado House of Representatives for final consideration. When passed by both the House and Senate, the National Popular Vote bill would go to Governor Jared Polis, who is expected to sign it into law.

Since the National Popular Vote movement began in 2006, eleven states and the District of Columbia – altogether totaling 172 electoral votes – have passed the National Popular Vote bill. That is just 98 electoral votes short of 270 necessary to elect the president. With Colorado’s nine electoral votes added, just 89 more would be required for the National Popular Vote interstate compact to take effect.

“Colorado is helping lead the way toward making every voter in every state politically relevant in every presidential election,” said John Koza, Chairman of National Popular Vote. “Under a national popular vote, there will be no campaign ‘fly-over’ states. Every state will be a battleground state, because presidential candidates will be compelled to fight for every vote in every state, regardless of whether it is red, blue, or purple – rural, urban, or in-between.”  

The National Popular Vote interstate compact will go into effect when enacted by states possessing a majority of the electoral votes necessary to elect a president – 270 out of 538.  In December, when electors meet to cast their ballots for president and vice-president following a presidential election, the electoral votes of all the compacting states would be awarded in a package to the candidate who receives the most popular votes across all 50 states and DC.

“We are determined to achieve 270 or more electoral votes,” continued Koza. “We will be unrelenting in our efforts to attract Republicans, Democrats, and Independents who believe everyone’s vote should count in electing the President of the United States.”

In 2006, the Colorado Senate became the first state legislative body in the nation to pass the National Popular Vote bill. The Colorado House went on to pass the bill in 2009. The National Popular Vote bill has since passed at least one house in 11 states possessing a total of 89 electoral votes. Altogether, 3,125 state legislators across all 50 states have endorsed the National Popular Vote bill. The New Mexico House of Representatives passed the National Popular Vote bill on February 1^st, and several more state legislatures are expected to consider the measure as they convene in 2019.