By Mike Foote
The process of our democracy continues even during these difficult times. Many municipalities had elections two weeks ago and some special districts have theirs on May 5. It is a very good thing Colorado elections look nothing like the recent Wisconsin debacle.
I strongly believe that every voice should be heard and every vote should count. That’s why I supported the 2013 law creating Colorado’s all mail-in ballot election system and many pro-voter reforms since then. It’s also why I was one of the legislative sponsors of the National Popular Vote.
Colorado joined the National Popular Vote interstate agreement in 2019. We became one of 15 states and Washington, D.C., that agree the presidential candidate who wins the most votes nationwide should become president. We agree that one person should equal one vote no matter where that person lives. We agree that every voter should be politically relevant in presidential campaigns.
Sadly, those concepts do not exist under our current winner-take-all electoral college system. Colorado is one of 48 states that gives all of its electoral college votes to the presidential candidate that wins the most popular votes within Colorado. The winner-take-all system has led to two very unfortunate outcomes: 1) we now have five individuals who have assumed the presidency as “second place winners,” most recently in 2016; and 2) the only voters that really count are those who happen to live in closely divided “swing states,” which is only about a half-dozen states at this point. Put simply, most Americans and how they vote currently don’t matter to presidential candidates.
That will change once enough states adopt the National Popular Vote. The National Popular Vote simply changes the way each member state’s electors vote from supporting the presidential candidate that only wins the most votes in Colorado to the candidate that wins the most vote nationwide. It will ensure the presidential candidate that receives the most votes in the country actually wins the election. It will make sure each voter across Colorado and the country has an equal say in deciding which candidate assumes the most powerful position in our government.
Just as importantly, it will change the way a president governs and runs for re-election. Instead of doing whatever possible to help swing states while ignoring the rest — for example, swing state Florida has unsurprisingly received 100% of its federal requests for COVID-19 relief supplies while non-swing state Colorado has received just a fraction — the president will pay attention to the entire country. Instead of pushing a trade war that helps swing state Midwestern manufacturers at the expense of Colorado’s outdoors and agricultural industries, the president is more likely to consider trade policies that benefit all of our workers.
Every Coloradan will get a chance to weigh in on the National Popular Vote. A ballot question asking Coloradans to approve our membership in the National Popular Vote will be in front of every voter during this fall’s election. The Yes on National Popular Vote campaign formally kicked off last week.
If you believe in one person, one vote and believe the presidential candidate who wins the most popular votes should actually win the election, you should vote yes on the National Popular Vote this fall.
We face opposition every time we seek to expand voting to make sure all voices are heard. Just like in Wisconsin two weeks ago, some partisans oppose the idea that every voter should matter. But our history has favored the expansion of democracy, even if it sometimes takes a while. Coloradans can stand up for the idea of one person, one vote by turning in our ballots this fall and voting yes on the National Popular Vote.
Mike Foote represents Senate District 17 (Louisville, Lafayette, Erie, and Longmont) and is working with the Yes on National Popular Vote campaign.
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April 20, 2020 at 06:52PM
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Mike Foote: Our democracy is strengthened with a yes on the National Popular Vote - Longmont Times-Call
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