Proposition 113 – National Popular Vote Compact

States in the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact (NPVIC) commit that the Electoral College (EC) in their state will consist of the presidential electors of the party whose nominee wins the national popular vote. (And this year the US Supreme Court ruled unanimously in CO Dept of State v Baca that states can bind electors to the candidates to which they are pledged.) The NPVIC will take effect when states with a majority of the EC votes – 270 or more – sign onto the compact.

The General Assembly passed Senate Bill 19-042 for Colorado to join the NPVIC, 19-16 in the Senate and 34-29-1 in the House. Several amendments were introduced – not all of them serious – but none passed, partly because all the states in the compact have to use standardized language. For instance, the bill language includes a provision on how to handle a tie in the national popular vote – the elector slate of the winner of the state’s popular vote would be certified.

If the General Assembly passed this bill, why are we voting on it this fall? Every bill in Colorado has either a safety clause or a petition clause. A bill with a safety clause can take effect immediately after the governor signs it and is not subject to a citizen petition to refer part or all of the bill to the Colorado electorate. The sponsors of this bill could not justify a safety clause since the NPVIC effort wouldn’t take effect by the 2020 election so opponents were allowed to collect signatures to ask the voters if they really want Colorado to join the NPVIC.

Birch Bayh, who died in 2019, is the only non-Founding Father to author two Constitutional Amendments: the 25th and 26th Amendments. He also led unsuccessful efforts to pass the Equal Rights Amendment and to abolish the Electoral College.

After Bayh’s efforts failed, people frustrated with the Electoral College’s results not always matching the popular vote looked for a different solution. Getting enough states to join the NPVIC is probably easier than amending the US Constitution to accomplish the same goal.

Recommendation: Yes/For

By design, the Electoral College gives more weight to smaller states and their voters -- similar to the US Senate. Many people believe that the Electoral College advantages the Republican Party, but the number of small red states and small blue states is comparable. The states that really matter are the swing states.

By definition, swing states are not dominated by either major party. Both major candidates get lots of votes, but the size of the margin of victory doesn’t matter. The candidate receiving the most votes in the state in November gets all the state’s EC votes in December. (Maine and Nebraska are the exceptions, awarding 2 EC votes to the state winner and the other EC votes to the corresponding congressional district winner.)

The one election that is on everyone’s ballot should be decided by a national vote, instead of in 51 separate elections.

One flawed argument against a national popular vote is that different states have different rules, for instance, about early voting, applying for an absentee ballot, and whether and when felons can vote. States that make it easier to vote would be likely to have more say in who is elected president! And, conversely, states that make it harder to vote would have less say in who is elected president. Higher voter turnout is a good goal for a democracy and, if NPVIC can lead to that, all the better.

Another argument against a national popular vote is that fraudulent ballots or tabulations could happen in any state, whereas now the fraud must occur in the swing states to make a difference. This argument is more worthy of consideration, except that instead of vague “fraud” we should be worried about voter suppression and intimidation, computer hacking (so we need voter-verified paper ballots and good audits), and possibly corrupt or incompetent election officials. Since the gutting of Section 5 of the 1965 Voting Rights Act in 2013 and Russian interference in 2016, the focus on these issues has been laudable and needs to be sustained. Election integrity should be adequately funded.

Meanwhile, voting for Prop 113 won’t force any change until and unless enough other states join the NPVIC.

Website for the Yes side – Yes on National Popular Vote
https://yesonnationalpopularvote.com/

Website for the No side – Protect Colorado’s Vote
https://protectcoloradosvote.org/


Approved Ballot Language

Proposition 113 (STATUTORY)

Shall the following Act of the General Assembly be approved: An Act concerning adoption of an agreement among the states to elect the President of the United States by national popular vote, being Senate Bill No. 19-042?

YES/FOR ____
NO/AGAINST ____

SB19-042 to join the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact
https://leg.colorado.gov/sites/default/files/2019a_042_signed.pdf

Secretary of State information about the Right of Referendum
https://www.sos.state.co.us/pubs/elections/referendumPetitions.html