Civic Register
| 6.6.19
Oregon Backs Switch to National Popular Vote Model – Is It Time to Eliminate the Electoral College?
Should the U.S. abandon the Electoral College?
What's the story?
- Oregon is poised to become the 16th state to join the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact, pledging its electoral votes to the national popular vote winner.
- The bill is headed to the desk of Democratic Gov. Kate Brown, who has signaled her support for the legislation.
- The National Popular Vote Interstate Compact only goes into effect if laws pass in enough states to represent an electoral majority (i.e., the states joining the coalition must have a combined electoral vote of 270 or above). With Oregon, the total would stand at 196, with 15 states and Washington, D.C., having joined the pact.
What are people saying?
- “The Republican presidential candidates write Oregon totally off … and Democratic candidates take Oregon for granted, so we are just relegated to being a spectator state,” said Rep. Alissa Keny-Guyer (D-Portland).
- Republican Rep. Mike McLane of Butte voted against the measure, arguing it would place too much power in cities, which tend to have larger concentrations of liberal voters.
“To suggest that, in the absence of the electoral college, a national popular vote is not completely biased to urban centers is just unfathomable in my mind,” McLane said. “Of course it is, and of course that’s the game plan here.”
- “I view this as a knee-jerk reaction of the people’s current view of who occupies the White House,” said Rep. Cheri Helt (R-Bend), who added that she did not vote for President Donald Trump.
What do you think?
Do you support replacing the Electoral College with the popular vote? Take action and tell your reps, then share your thoughts below.
—Josh Herman
(Photo Credit: RingOfFire.com)
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