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National Popular Vote Bill Passes in Colorado Senate

On Tuesday, Jan. 29, the Colorado State Senate passed the National Popular Vote bill. The bill will now enter the Colorado House of Representatives for a vote. If it passes there it will be sent to Governor Jared Polis for a final signature, making it a law.
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This content was originally published by the Longmont Observer and is licensed under a Creative Commons license.

On Tuesday, Jan. 29, the Colorado State Senate passed the National Popular Vote bill. The bill will now enter the Colorado House of Representatives for a vote. If it passes there it will be sent to Governor Jared Polis for a final signature, making it a law.

The National Popular Vote bill will align Colorado with other states participating in and interstate compact that will change the way the president and vice-president of the U.S. are elected.

"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," states a press release by National Popular Vote.

The National Popular Vote movement began in 2006 and included eleven states and the District of Columbia. The total number of electoral votes of those states equals 172 which makes the effort 98 electoral votes shy of the 270 vote goal. If Colorado joins the movement it will put the effort 9 votes closer.

Sponsor of the National Popular Vote bill, Democratic Sen. Mike Foote, is hopeful and optimistic that the Colorado House will also pass the bill.

"The National Popular vote is a way to make every vote equal, to make every vote matter in every Presidential election no matter where the voter lives. Everyone has an equal voice," says Foote.

Click here to read a summary of the bill.